


Renewal

by transjnpr



Series: Renewal [1]
Category: RWBY
Genre: F/F, F/M, M/M, Other
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-25
Updated: 2021-01-08
Packaged: 2021-03-03 01:54:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 48
Words: 96,092
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24366868
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/transjnpr/pseuds/transjnpr
Summary: It's been roughly 20 years since the final battle for Remnant and the world is finally at peace- for real this time. But there are still Grimm to be fought, criminals to be stopped and it's not as if all of the world's systematic and societal issues have been solved in two decades.Luna, Lily, Astra and Cobalt are all fresh students at a newly-rebuilt Beacon Academy, all with their own motivations and challenges to face. Only time will tell if they can learn to work as a team and help work on the bad that still exists in the world, while maybe having a little fun along the way.
Series: Renewal [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1881874
Comments: 167
Kudos: 120





	1. Setting Off

**Author's Note:**

> welcome to chapter one guys!! i'm super excited to dive into these characters for real and flesh them out as i figure out their stories. please let me know what you think so far and i hope you enjoyed!! expect chapter 2...in a week or so maybe? perhaps less? i managed this one in a single day, so maybe i can do that again ahah

Luna’s hair was never tidy.

It wasn’t that she never brushed it; she did. Every morning, as much as she possibly could. But she had a habit of playing with it when she was nervous- running her fingers through it, twisting it around her fingers, pulling it back from her head (when it was out, anyway). And Luna was always, _always_ nervous.

Especially today. She’d barely let go of her hair since waking up.

“You’ll be okay,” Yang assured her, trying her best to smooth out her daughter’s hair. “You won’t be as far away from us as you think.”

“And you can call any time.” Blake added.

Luna tried not to shake; unable to push down her anxiety. The rest of her extended family had all stopped by at the Xiao Long household earlier that morning to see her off, but she was grateful that it was just her parents and sister now. She didn’t think she’d be able to handle waiting here for the airship if she’d been surrounded by so many others.

“I know,” She sighed. “I’m going to do my best, I promise. I won’t let you down.”

“Hey.” Blake sat down on the nearby bench and gestured for Luna to sit beside her. With another sigh, Luna slumped down onto the cold metal surface.

“There’s nothing you could ever do to let us down.” Blake told her insistently. “We don’t care whether or you beat any records or get good grades or win every sparring match. What matters to us is that you’re happy and that you feel safe. Don’t forget that.”

Luna smiled, slightly comforted. She would miss her mother’s gentle assurance, but it was good to know they weren’t putting any pressure on her. Not that she didn’t feel that pressure anyway.

“Blake’s right,” Yang added. “And remember that you won’t be alone there. You’ll have Cobalt, remember? And I’m sure Coco and Jaune will be happy to look out for you when they can.”

“Oh, say hi to Jaune for me!” Blaze piped up. She’d been unusually quiet since arriving at the stop; Luna had a feeling her sister was going to miss her more than she was letting on.

“You saw him just the other day.” Luna pointed out.

Blaze frowned. “I know but he’s been so _busy_.”

Luna huffed gently. “I’ll be sure to let him know you miss him.”

A gradually loudening whirring noise caught her attention and she looked up to see the Beacon airship transport descending. Her heart lurched.

“Looks like it’s time to go.” There was a touch of sadness in Yang’s voice and Luna was seriously tempted to change her mind right then and there. But the airship landed and she knew it was too late to back out now.

As the airship door opened and a couple of other students from Patch boarded, a familiar face appeared in the doorway and waved over to the family. Luna took one step in the ship’s direction before instantly whirling around and wrapping her mothers in a tight hug, tears forming in her eyes.

“I’m going to miss you guys so much.” She sniffed.

“We’ll miss you too, little bee.” Blake replied warmly.

Blaze joined in on their hug. “I’ll be there with you before you know it.” She asserted. “You know, in two years.”

Luna finally pulled back and wiped her face with her sleeve.

“Go learn how to beat things up,” Yang urged her warmly. “We’ll cheer you on from home.”

Luna managed a shaky nod. “I’ll call tonight.” She promised. Her suitcase tight in her hand, she forced herself to turn and head towards the airship.

“Goodbye! have fun!” Blake called after her.

“Don’t burn anything down!” Yang added.

Her best- and only- friend Cobalt greeted her with a hug as she boarded. He seemed as calm and collected as ever, his rabbit ears flopped over slightly.

“You nervous?” He asked.

Luna stared out the window at her family as the airship door closed again. “Of course I am.” She reached out with her Semblance for Cobalt’s emotions; he was a lot more excited than he was letting on but not nearly as anxious as she was. Good for him.

He gave her a friendly nudge as the airship lifted off again. “Ah, come on, we’ll be fine. You’ve got your best buddy with you!”

Luna couldn’t help but grin. “Yeah, okay. Just don’t go abandoning me, will you?”

“Even if I end up on a separate team,” Cobalt promised. “I’ve got your back.”

Luna heaved a relieved sigh and leaned against the wall. “Good.” _Please let him be my partner._ She begged the Gods inwardly. Not that they’d ever been much help in the past. She didn’t know what she’d do without Cobalt by her side; he’d been her only friend at Signal, the only person happy to go along with anything, even it just meant sitting quietly in a library without exchanging a word. If he didn’t end up her partner, or at least on the same team as her…she didn’t know what she’d do.

“Hey, think of it this way,” Cobalt pointed out. “This time tomorrow, we’ll be official Huntsmen-in-training and it’ll only be a matter of time before we’re out there helping people and beating Grimm into smoke.”

Luna smiled. That, at least, she was looking forward to. Getting out there, letting herself lose, getting caught up in the battle and not having to worry about other people. She was good at fighting; she was at least confident in that much. With luck on her side, she’d made it through the year.

Lily wasn’t nervous. Not scared, or worried, or anxious or any other synonym. But she still wasn’t looking forward to the journey she was about to embark on. Not in the slightest. And yet, here she was, walking to Beacon Academy, dragging her suitcase behind her with her hood over her head in an attempt to stay unnoticed. Her conversation with her mother from that morning was still fresh in her mind.

“You don’t have to do this,” Emerald had told her. “Not if it’s not what you want.”

“I _do_ have to,” Lily had insisted. “Whether or not I want to doesn’t matter. People are never going to stop treating us like criminals if I don’t.” The dirty looks, the sneers, the general nasty attitude from society, it would all end if she could do good as a Huntress and prove that she and her mother were good people, worthy of respect.

Emerald had looked tired, that same old look of endless guilt spreading across her face. “You’re not responsible for what I’ve done. I should be the one making things better.”

 _But you won’t._ Lily had wanted reply, but she’d held herself back. Her mother had spent years beating herself up over past mistakes, but her pride still got in the way of asking anyone for help, certainly not anyone from teams RWBY or JNR considering ‘all they’d already done’ for her. Personally, Lily thought they’d hadn’t done enough. So what if Emerald hadn’t sought them out after they’d helped her avoid jail time? They should have known she’d still need help, especially after Lily had been born. But no, nothing.

Instead, Lily had continued to insist that this was something she needed to do. Becoming a Huntress, clearing the family name. She was going to fix everything.

Emerald hadn’t fought her on it. She’d pulled her daughter into a tight hug, telling her how proud of her she was and that she was welcome to come home any time. And as much as Lily appreciated it, she wasn’t going to let herself cave. Of course she would have liked to stay with her mother. Of course she would’ve liked to accept the little comfort and security she got instead of throwing herself into an academy filled with people who were sure to hate them both. But this was not a matter of choice.

She could see Beacon clearly now; a vast and tall building of impressive structure. It was hard to image that, just a couple of decades ago, it had been broken down into ruins, crawling with Grimm and the aftermath of a horrific battle. Lily tried not to think of the role her mother had played in that battle.

 _It was never her fault._ She insisted fiercely to herself. Emerald had never been willing to talk about Cinder much, but Lily knew enough to know that she was a master of manipulation with an iron grip on her mother that hadn’t broken until Emerald had seen for herself that Cinder had never cared for her. Lily’s grip on her suitcase tightened just thinking about it. She almost wished Cinder hadn’t been killed in the final battle, so that she could do it herself. Had it not been for her, everything might have turned out okay. They might have had a nice house, maybe even a complete family. Maybe Lily would have even had gained a few friends by now. But the past was the past; it couldn’t be changed.

The future though, _that_ she could control. She kept the thought in mind as she approached the academy gates and paused to take the vastness of the school grounds in. Countless people flocked around as airships full of new students landed. It was loud. Busy. _Annoying_.

But this was where Lily was going to set things right.


	2. Welcome

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> One student arrives at Beacon and meets a celebrity guest, while another's just happy to be around family.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> two days between updates, look at me go! i will definitely not always be this quick though.

Practically every muscle in Astra’s body was vibrating with pure excitement.

All of her 17 years waiting for this moment and now she was _actually_ _here_! And not even at strict, stinky, old, faunus-discriminating Atlas, but beautiful, clean, mostly-accepting Beacon!

It already felt perfect and Astra had to stand there for a moment, taking everything in. The weather was perfect, the air was perfect, even the trees were perfect. Especially since there were _actually trees_. Greenery instead of all of Atlas’ cold, grey manmade stuff!

It wasn’t just at the school, either. She’d been living in Vale for two months now and still hadn’t gotten used to seeing trees on every street, a bush here and there, grass in various areas. Sure, most plants probably wouldn’t survive in Atlas, but they surely could’ve benefited from planting some pines or something.

She gasped as a shiny statue caught her eye and dragged her bags over to gaze at it in awe. She didn’t know the man it depicted but she knew it’d stood her once before and had been destroyed during the Fall of Beacon. But then it had been rebuilt and now it was _so clean and pretty_. She squealed out loud and prayed that they’d make a statue of her someday. She’d surely do well enough her to deserve it. She’d even take a plaque of some kind. Whatever it was, she’d leave her mark here for sure.

As she bounced up and down on the spot, her tail waving in excitement, passing students gave her weird looks. She ignored them, of course. Her mother had always told her never to let boring people squash her enthusiasm and she’d taken that to heart. _Unlike_ her mother though, Astra wasn’t going to counter people’s rudeness with some mean jab. Neon never meant any harm, but she could always be… _insensitive_. Astra, on the other hand, much preferred ignoring the haters and trumping their nasty attitudes with overwhelming positivity. Even if it was “annoying”.

But none of that _mattered_! She was attending _Beacon_! She was going to be a _Huntress_! This was probably the best day of her life! And she’d had a lot of those.

It occurred to her that she had no idea where anything was. Or where she was supposed to go. Was there some kind of…assembly area? Should she find the dorms first? There was certainly a lot here that was new to her and she had no idea what to do next.

It was _so exciting_.

She scanned the array of people walking around until a tall blonde man who looked 40-ish caught her attention. Yeah, he looked like he was probably some kind of faculty member. She dragged her bags over to him.

“Yo!” She called. “Mr. uh…blonde sir? Could I get some help?”

The man turned to greet her with a friendly smile. “Sure thing! Guessing you need directions?”

“Ooh, how’d you know?”

The man chuckled. “I was just as confused my first day here. Just head that way and go inside for assembly.” He nodded towards an entrance. “Main hall. It’s where you’ll be going for any assembly. You’ll be shown where the dorms are afterward, but all first-years will be staying in the ballroom until teams are sorted.”

Astra grinned. “Neat! Thanks, dude.”

She turned around to start hauling the bags away, only for the man to add:

“Oh, you can call me Jaune, by the way.”

Astra dropped her bags and whipped back around with a long gasp. “ _Holy shit_.” She darted up to look him full in the face, feeling like an idiot for not recognizing him sooner.

“You’re _Jaune Arc?_ ” She gasped. “Leader of Team JNPR? One of the greatest teams to ever graduate any Huntsman Academy ever? _You’re a professor here!?_ ”

Jaune looked slightly embarrassed. “Ah, I wouldn’t call us the greatest. All teams achieve greatness in different ways; we just happened to be in the right place at the right time. But yes, I’m one of the combat teachers. I specialize in Aura.”

“I can’t believe I didn’t know that…” Astra breathed in awe. She was in the presence of a _literal legend_ and hadn’t even noticed at first. Unbelievable. “Oh man, my mom says you were kind of a dork when she knew you but I don’t agree at _all_. You’re just…amazing!” She started bouncing, her tail straight up in the air.

Jaune looked her up and down. “You’re Astra Katt, right?”

Astra gasped again. She didn’t think her eyes could get any wider. _He knows who I am!_

“You know who I am!?”

“I checked your files when you applied.” Jaune explained. “And you certainly resemble your mother.”

“Wow…” Was there anything he didn’t know?

“Well, I should get to helping other students.” Jaune mentioned. “Assembly starts soon; you should get inside. Professor Goodwitch isn’t known for her patience.”

Astra’s tail shot up. “Oh, right!” She’d almost forgotten where she even was, somehow. “Uh…sorry for the fangirling. I’ve just wanted to meet you and all the others for a really long time.”

Jaune waved his hand. “Ah, don’t worry about it. I’m not great at taking compliments but they’re nice to hear anyway.”

Astra picked her bags back up. “Okay, well bye! Thanks for the help!” She turned and hauled her bags towards the main hall as excitement bubbled up inside her even more.

This was going to be _amazing_.

This wasn’t his first time seeing Beacon up close, but Cobalt found himself excited all the same. After all, his visits in the past had only been for a few hours and purely as visits. But now…now he was a _student_ here. He’d get to do _student things_.

Of course, he appeared perfectly casual to everyone else. It wasn’t on purpose or anything, it was just how he was. Cool-headed on the outside even if the inside of him threatened to boil over with joy, or anger, or sadness, any strong emotions rarely showing to the world. Well, except for Luna. Due to her Semblance, he’d always gotten along with her well. It was nice to have someone aside from his family who knew how he really felt at all times and equally nice to be around someone who wouldn’t make his life too crazy.

But even though he looked cool for the most part, Cobalt still couldn’t help but have a little bounce in his step as he and Luna unboarded from the airship. He hoped nobody noticed. Not because it would ‘ruin his image’, but because the last thing he needed on his first day was for someone to make any damned rabbit puns. 

As he and Luna approached the main hall, Coco was already just outside. She’d clearly waited for him and he grinned as he hurried over to hug her, Luna following awkwardly behind.

“You excited?” Coco asked, ruffling the hair between his rabbit ears.

“He is.” Luna piped up quietly. “He’s been radiating it all morning.”

“Hah,” Coco chuckled. “That’s fair. I was too. Don’t tell people.”

Cobalt smiled warmly. “And ruin your chill image? Wouldn’t dream of it, Mom.”

“That’s my boy.”

Velvet was Cobalt’s biological mother, but that had never stopped him from seeing Coco as a second mother anyway. Really, the whole of Team CFVY had become his parents. They’d moved in after his father had died and raised him as a team and their family had only grown after Velvet and Coco had married and his younger sisters had come along. When Coco had started teaching at Beacon before becoming Glynda’s right hand, Cobalt hadn’t been able to spend as much time with her as he once had, so the fact they’d now be spending every weekday in the same place was yet another bonus to attending Beacon.

The three headed into the main hall, where students crowded together and waited expectantly for Glynda to begin the assembly. Cobalt noticed Luna tuck her tail around her leg and moved closer to her in comfort as Coco waved goodbye and hurried over to where the other school faculty gathered at the side of the room.

“Attention, all students.”

The room fell silent as Glynda Goodwitch’s stern voice rang out across the hall. Cobalt pricked his ears intently.

“Welcome, to all students new and retuning. Today, another year at Beacon begins. Over 20 years ago, this school fell in a brutal attack, but since then, we’ve come back stronger than ever. That is one of the core traits you need to succeed as a Hunstman- the ability to come back even after failure. None of you are going to get everything exactly right and some of you may get very little right at all.”

Cobalt glanced at Luna. Her face was creased with anxiety at Glynda’s words, but a flash of determination still shone in her eyes.

“But what matters is that you pick yourself back up and keep trying anyway.” Glynda continued. “Do the best you can to help others and to help yourself and you will graduate from this Academy as a fully licenced Huntsman.”

As she stepped away from the microphone, students began to mill around again and the noise picked back up. Cobalt remained by Luna’s side.

“You doing okay?” He asked.

It took a moment, but Luna nodded. “Yeah,” She replied. “I’m just trying to prepare myself. You know, mentally.”

Cobalt placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. “Take all the time you need; you’ve got this. Just let me know when you’re ready for a tour.”

Luna scoffed. “Showoff. You’ve been here before, what? Three times?”

Cobalt faked offence. “I’ll have you know I’ve been here _four_ times.”

“Yeah, okay.” Luna chuckled. “But I still don’t trust you to know where you’re going.” She nudged hm. “Come on then, let’s get our bags to the ballroom. My hands are cramped from the death grip I’ve had on them this whole time.”

Cobalt glanced around. “Alrighty, the ballroom iisss…this way.” He started in one direction before Luna’s tug on his shirt stopped him.

“It’s _that_ way.” She pointed in the opposite direction. “There’s literally a sign.”

“Ah.” Cobalt looked where she was pointing. There sure was a sign. “Totally knew that.”


	3. Initiation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luna's initiation to Beacon Academy begins with a leap- literally.

Luna had thought her anxiety couldn’t have spiked more than it had yesterday.

Standing on a pressure plate on the side of a cliff as she waited to be launched into the air into the Grimm-filled forest below, she realized she was wrong.

Today was _definitely_ the most stressed she’d ever been.

“All right everyone.” Coco clapped her hands together. “Most of you should know the drill already, but here’s a run-down just in case.”

Glynda stepped forward. “After you’re launched, it’ll be up to you to devise a landing strategy with the help of your Semblance, weapon or whatever other skill you might have. However, you have all been provided emergency parachutes in the event that you can’t come up with anything.”

“Because _not_ doing that would be wildly irresponsible,” Coco added with a knowing smirk.

Luna breathed a sigh of relief, glad that she didn’t live in the day where parachutes weren’t an option. Thank goodness for Jaune Arc.

Glynda shot Coco a sharp look before continuing. “The first person you make eye contact with once in the forest will be your partner for the rest of your time at this school, so try to choose wisely if you can.”

Luna glanced at Cobalt, who stood loyally beside her and inwardly prayed.

“After you’ve found your partner, you’ll need to find your way through the forest until you come across the remains of an abandoned temple. Here, you will select one of the relics we’ve placed”

“Not to be confused with the four world-saving God relics.” Coco chipped in, bringing a few chuckles out of the students.

Glynda gave her another glare. “Mrs. Adel, _please_.”

Coco grinned. “Ah, come on, they’re stressed. You can at least let me lighten the mood a _little_ bit.”

Glynda sighed. “Very well.” She turned her gaze back to the students. “After each pair has selected a relic, make your way back to the top of this cliff. Afterward, we will head back to the school and announce your standings and team. Now, take your positions.”

Luna crouched on the plate and gripped her spear, Striking Shadow, tightly, staring straight ahead. With loud springs, other students were launched. Then her.

As the ground lurched from beneath her, sending her hurtling through the air, she angled Striking Shadow to point forward and tucked her body in as tightly as she could. The treeline quickly approached and she tensed, tempted to pull her parachute.

No, she had to do this right.

A tree loomed in front of her and she quickly stabbed Striking Shadow into the bark, slamming her feet into the trunk right after. The force of suddenly stopping knocked the breath out of her and she hung for a moment, gripping the weapon as tightly as she could as she caught her breath.

Now to get down.

She swung herself up to perch of the spear, hoping it would take her weight as she scanned the horizon as other students fell in the distance. Was one of them Coablt? Had he already landed? She had to find him, as soon as possible.

When she heard the bark where Striking Shadow was stabbed into the tree split, she only had a brief moment to panic before she plummeted.

Twisting in the air, she finally managed to get a hold of the spear again and shoved it back into the tree, bark flinging aside as it tore through the trunk and, slowing her fall until her feet hit grass.

“Ugh.” She plucked Striking Shadow from the tree. If that hadn’t caught the Grimms’ attention, she didn’t know what would.

A rustling in the trees caught her attention as something moved among the leaves. Luna whipped around and pointed Striking Shadow in the direction of the noise, tensing.

“Alright, Grimm…” She muttered. “Come out and let me do something cool for a change.”

Before she could even react, the ‘thing’ burst from the shadows and bowled her over, knocking her into the grass with a thud.

“ _Oh my goodness, I can’t believe this!_ ”

It wasn’t a Grimm.

Leaning over her was a very brightly-coloured girl with a freckled face, amazing green eyes and orange hair that almost sparkled- no, it _was_ sparkling. Definitely sparkling. She was…stunning. There was really no other way to put it.

“Of all the people here, I get to partner with another cat-tailed faunus!?” The girl squealed. “This is amazing!”

Luna forced herself to stop staring at the girl’s face. Yep, she had a cat tail too and it was as sparkly as her hair.

“Oh!” The girl leaped back suddenly, as if she’d only just noticed she’d knocked Luna over. “Did I hurt you? I really hope I didn’t hurt you.”

“Uh…no, no.” Luna pulled herself up and brushed grass off her clothes. “I’m okay. You just startled me.”

“Oh, thank goodness!” The girl gasped in relief. “I don’t know what I would’ve done if I hurt someone on my first proper day here.” She stuck out her hand. “I’m Astra, by the way.”

Luna took a moment to react, still stunned by the encounter. Just in time before things got too awkward, she shook Astra’s outstretched hand. “Luna.”

Astra gasped again and her hands flew to her mouth.

“ _No fucking way_.” Her eyes were wider than ever, now seeming to shine as brightly as the rest of her. “Like, Luna _Xiao Long_? One of the daughters of _two of the greatest heroes Remnant’s ever seen_!?”

“I…guess?” Luna couldn’t deny that her mothers were amazing but it was always so weird to hear other people say it, as if they were nothing more than legends from a storybook instead of real, existing people.

Astra squealed and started hopping from foot-to-foot. “That’s so _cool_! I’ve heard so many stories about the stuff they’ve done; all the battles they fought and how they helped save the world with the rest of her team. Ooh, I bet they taught you some stuff, huh? Are you as amazing a fighter as them? Did they teach you any of their special moves??”

Luna blushed madly. “Uh…”

She didn’t know how tightly her tail was tucked around her leg until Astra’s gaze darted to it. The girl leaped back again, her face- and tail- falling.

“Ahh, I’ve made you uncomfortable, haven’t I?”

Luna winced. Of course someone else with a cat tail would recognize her body language. “It’s fine.” She managed.

Astra shook her head. “No, it’s not. I know I can be…a lot sometimes.” She shuffled her foot adorably in the dirt. “I can tone it down if you want. I really don’t want to be a bother.”

Luna wasn’t sure how to respond. “I…thanks. But it’s fine, really. You just surprised me, that’s all.” _And I also don’t know how to react to a pretty girl getting so close to me,_ she added privately.

Astra’s tail shot back up into the air. “Okay, neat! So uh…” She looked around. “Do we wanna go find this abandoned temple then?”

“Oh, right.” Honestly, Luna had almost forgotten about the objective completely. “Do you…have any idea where to go?”

“Not a clue.” Astra replied cheerfully.

Well, at least she was more optimistic than Luna. Maybe that would be helpful in a partner.

“Okay, well…” Luna glanced around. She knew roughly which direction she’d fallen from, at least. The logical conclusion was to head in the opposite way. “Let’s try this way.” She suggested, gazing into the trees where Astra had come from.

“Great! Lead the way, Luna!”

There was something nice about hearing Astra say her name.

As Luna started walking, Astra leaped straight onto a low tree branch with impressive grace. Luna stared at her quizzically. “Uh…don’t you want to walk?”

“Nah,” Astra jumped to the next tree. “This is way more fun. Keeps me out of the way of any Grimm, too. You should try it!”

Luna couldn’t resist a smile. “I think I’m good.”

She kept walking and found herself watching Astra as the girl leaped from branch to branch. There was something enamouring to the way she bounded so gracefully as the sunlight lit up the outline of her body and making her hair and tail seem all the more sparkly. She was so swift, so delicate. Luna could only imagine what kind of fighter she was.

“So, what’s it like?” Astra asked after a moment, breaking the silence.

“Hm?”

“Growing up with half of Team RWBY as your parents, I mean.” Astra explained, pulling herself onto a higher branch. “Was it cool?”

Luna shrugged. “I mean, it was normal, I guess? We live on Patch and it’s pretty quiet there, so it’s not like we got a lot of…celebrity attention or anything.”

“Makes sense. I guess it’s better that way.” Astra contemplated. “You seem like the kind of girl who likes her peace. Oh!” She stopped suddenly and looked down at Luna. “Are those your preferred pronouns? She/her?”

Luna stopped, blinking in surprise. Nobody had really cared enough to ask before. It was nice. “Yeah,” She replied. “How about you?”

“Same,” Astra responded. “They/them is okay too sometimes. Anything but he/him. Got enough of that from Atlas.”

The last part was muttered and Luna wondered if she’d meant to hear it. She almost asked Astra if she was okay, but the girl was already grinning again and hopped into another branch. Luna rushed after her.

“You grew up in Atlas?” She prompted.

“Oh, yeah. Not for me though. Still a lot of faunus discrimination, bigots…and no trees. Which sucks because trees are _way_ more fun to jump from than buildings.”

Luna remembered the few times she’d been to Atlas and found herself agreeing. Sure, things were _better_ there now, especially since the government and school were separate like the other kingdoms, but it still had some serious issues.

“You know, it’s kind of weird,” Astra said suddenly, changing the subject. “I would’ve thought we’d have seen some Grimm by now.”

Luna opened her mouth to agree, but Astra had clearly spoken too soon. The foliage burst open as two Beowolf leaped out, breaking the peace of the forest with ugly snarls.

In her shock, Luna’s first instinct was to try and run. Immediately, she tripped, losing her grip on Striking Shadow and falling against a tree. One of the Beowolf headed towards her, blocking her from seeing if Astra was okay.

It was close enough now that all Luna could see was its burning red eyes and massive teeth.

She was weaponless, helpless.

It lunged.


	4. First Fight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cobalt seeks out a partner, but who he finds doesn't seem all too thrilled to be here.

As Cobalt hurtled through the air, his mind remained calm as he focused on the ground below, looking for the tools that would help him land safely.

There.

A large boulder was thankfully right in his path. All he’d need to do would be to build upon it. He reached out with his Semblance, grabbing more rocks with his mind and stacking them upon the larger one, hoping he’d build a tall enough pile in time. He tucked his legs in as he neared his makeshift tower.

He landed with a thud and the rocks immediately slipped out from under his feet. Trying not to panic, he flailed around in attempt to get a solid foothold, to no avail. He crashed flat onto the ground, crushing the grass beneath him.

Disgruntled, he lay there for a moment. Okay, so making a tower out of rocks to land on had not been one of his best ideas. On the bright side, nobody had seen his utter failure of a landing strategy.

He struggled to his feet and brushed the grass and dirt off his outfit, frowning at the stains left behind.

“Man…mom’s gonna kill me.” He’d have to remember to wash it before calling her tonight.

He surveyed his landscape. Yep, this sure was a forest. Lots of grass, trees, bushes. Also, the ruined pile of rocks next to him. No other people that he could see though and thankfully, no Grimm. Turning around, he could vaguely see the cliff through the trees. Great, so he’d just head in the opposite direction and hopefully find the temple. With any luck, he’d find Luna too.

He headed off, calling his friend’s name.

“Luna? Luuuuna?” He peeked around every tree. “Were you lucky enough to fall near me or am I gonna have to search this whole forest for you?”

He angled his ears to listen for anyone approaching. He caught the faintest sounds of gunfire in the distance, but otherwise, nothing.

“Damn,” He muttered. “How big _is_ this forest?”

As he kept going, he noticed that the ground nearby stopped short. Curious, he wandered over and peered over the edge to see what he assumed must have been the abandoned temple he was supposed to find. In the middle of the rubble, pillars rose in a circle, each with a different coin placed upon them. The relics, probably.

Cobalt’s ears dropped. “Are you kidding me? Before I’ve even found a partner?” With a heavy sigh, he turned around again and headed back into the trees.

Before he’d gone to far, he stopped again as he picked up the sound of a cracking twig. Bracing himself in case it was a Creature of Grimm, he crept around in source of the source.

Rounding a tree, he pulled out his rock-dagger, Stoneheart, only to pull back when he was greeted, not by a Grimm, but an annoyed-looking girl, who fell back at his sudden presence.

“Oh!” He tucked Stoneheart back into his belt. “Sorry, I thought you might’ve been a Grimm.” He reached out a hand to help her up. “I’m Cobalt.”

The girl glanced at his hand before getting up on her own. “Lily.” She replied bluntly.

Cobalt pulled his hand back awkwardly. “Right. Well, uh…I guess we’re partners now?”

Lily shrugged and pulled her green hood over her head. “I guess.”

Cobalt stared at her for a moment; unable to shake the feeling that she looked familiar. Surely he’d never met her before?

“So, are we going to find this temple, or what?” Lily asked, interrupting Cobalt’s thought.

“Oh, yeah, it’s just back that-” Cobalt stopped as he caught something at the edge of his hearing and froze as he recognized the unmistakeable growl of a Beowolf.

“What are you doing?” Lily asked, looking more annoyed than ever.

“Someone needs help.” Cobalt told her urgently, picking up two different shouts. “Come on!” Without waiting for a reply, he rushed in the direction of the noise, surprised when Lily actually did follow him. At least she didn’t seem to be the type to abandon others in need, even if she was a little grumpy.

As the growls got louder, Cobalt whisked up a boulder with his Semblance as he ran. The moment the best came into view, he hauled it with as much force as he could. It slammed into one of the Beowolf, shoving it back several metres before it dissolved into smoke. Lily dove for the second one, but one of the students being attacked had beaten her to it, swinging a spiked hammer right into its head.

“Cobalt!”

A familiar voice caught his attention and he realized that the other student was none other than Luna.

She darted forward and wrapped him in a hug before drawing back suddenly and glaring at him.

“You _abandoned_ me!” She huffed jokingly.

Cobalt chuckled. “Sorry. I couldn’t find you.”

“Well, good thing you found us when you did!” The other girl chirped, looking completely unaffected by the fact she’d been in danger less than a minute ago. “I’m Astra, by the way! I like your name! And I’m totally not just saying that because I know someone else named that.”

“She’s my partner,” Luna explained. She turned to the girl. “Thanks, by the way. For doing what you did when I was cornered.”

Was that a slight blush Cobalt saw on his friend’s face? Interesting…

Astra waved a hand. “Ah, no problem. I’m always wanted to jump on a Grimm’s back.”

Cobalt raised his eyebrows. “Impressive.” He commented. “I’m Cobalt,” He turned to Lily, who stood silently beside him, her hood almost pulled over her eyes. “And this is my partner, Lily.”

“Hi,” Luna smiled shyly at Lily. “I’m-”

“I know who you are.” Lily said shortly, cutting Luna off. Luna backed off, wrapping her tail around her leg. She looked upset, but her expression changed to one of curiosity as she peered closer at Lily and Cobalt wondered if she’d used her Semblance. Was there a deeper reason for Lily’s coldness?

“Aaaalllrighty then!” Astra clapped her hands together, breaking the uncomfortable silence. “Now that we’ve got backup, let’s go find that temple!”

Cobalt cleared his throat. “I think I actually found it earlier.” He turned around. “It’s just back there.”

“Ooh, neat!” Astra bounded past him. “Let’s go do this!” Shrugging, Cobalt followed her, Luna at his side. Lily trailed silently behind him, her eyes glued to the ground.

Cobalt’s curiosity got the better of him. “Do you know what her deal is?” He whispered to Luna.

“I don’t know _who_ she is, if that’s what you’re asking.” She shot an uncomfortable glance back at Lily. “But she feels…guilt. And determination. Like she’s got something to prove.” Her eyes softened. “I don’t know for sure, but I sensed something else too, deeper down. A kind of sadness, but not exactly sadness. I don’t really know how to describe what I picked up.”

Cobalt suddenly felt sorry for his partner. So, the grumpy annoyance was a cover then. But surely everyone here was trying to prove themselves in some way, so why the attitude? And what about her coldness to Luna? Cobalt resolved to figure her out by the end of this term.

Deep in thought, he hadn’t noticed that Astra had stopped until he walked into her.

“Sorry-” He started, but Astra held out an arm to hush him.

“I think I hear…” The girl didn’t get to finish before three massive Grimm burst from the undergrowth. Not Beowolves this time, but three Ursa Major, all of them heavily-armoured and looking like they could deal lethal damage.

The four teens drew their weapons instantly as the Grimm charged right for them. Cobalt leaped out of the way, brandishing Stoneheart as Lily jumped right into the fight, shooting at one of the Ursa with bladed shotguns. Astra swung at another with her hammer, but the blow seemed to do nothing more than anger it. Cobalt leapt in to help, plunging Stoneheart into the beast’s hide as it roared with enough force to shake the ground.

Luna stood to the side, wielding Striking Shadow but not making any move to attack. Instead, she was watching the other two, her eyes darting back and forth, until one of the Ursa charged for her and she dove out of the way.

“These things are impenetrable!” Astra complained. Se brought her hammer down on the head of the one she was fighting, but was thrown off, landing on the ground with a thud.

Another one threw Luna from its back as she tried to impale it with her spear. She landed on her feet, skidding in the dust beside Cobalt.

“We need more momentum to deal a proper blow,” She puffed. She separated Striking Shadow into its two parts.

Cobalt glanced at the spear, his eyes on the buttons that he knew activated the gravity dust imbedded in both sections. ‘Something tells me you’ve got an idea.”

Luna shoved one end of Striking Shadow into his hands. “Yep. And I really hope it works.” She dove back into the fight, dodging deadly claws and teeth.

“Astra! Lily!” She called as she slashed at one of the Ursa. “I need you two to line them up!”

Astra’s head popped out from behind the Ursa she was focused on. “How’re we supposed to do that?”

“However, you can!” Luna shot back. “Just trust me!”

“Alrighty, partner!” To Cobalt’s amusement, she slammed her whole body into the Grimm, yelling; “Move, beast!”

“Cobalt!” Lily called. “Get to the opposite of me! You know what to do, right?”

With a nod, Cobalt darted behind the Grimm and stood his ground, Stoneheart in one hand and half of Striking Shadow in the other, aiming the pointed end towards the fray.

From one side, Lily shot at the Ursa, occasionally diving in to slash at them with the blades of her weapon before leaping back and shooting again. One the other side, Astra was wildly swinging at the beasts, forcing them away from her. Slowly, all three Ursa were falling into a line.

“Cobalt, now!”

At Luna’s yell and the tug on his end of Striking Shadow, Cobalt released his grip on the weapon. Instead of dropping to the ground, the spear sailed through the air, picking up speed until it pierced through all three Ursa, leaving visible holes as the Grimm fell with loud shrieks and turned to smoke.

At the other end of the line, Luna angled the other end of Striking Shadow to catch the first half as it perfectly slotted into place. Staring at the smoke of the Grimm as it drifted away, she looked badass, her hair having fallen out of its ponytail to blow in the wind. Cobalt felt a fierce glow of pride towards her, glad she’d been able to show her skill.

The silence that fell was quickly broken by Astra, who let out a yell of victory.

“That was _so cool_!” She exclaimed. “We really just won a fight against _three Ursa Major_!” She turned to Luna, her green eyes wide with awe. “You really _are_ as good as your parents, huh?”

This time, Luna’s blush was definite, her whole face turning red at her partner’s compliment. “I mean, it was a team effort…” She trailed off, clearly unable to resist a grin.

Cobalt looked at Lily as she tucked her weapons into her pockets. She was staring at Luna with narrowed eyes and Cobalt was all the more confused by her. She really wasn’t happy, even after winning a fight like that?

What _was_ her deal?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello yes this is the first fight scene i've written that isn't cats please go easy on me. also this was supposed to include the ceremony as well buuttt it got too long so...next chapter!


	5. Team LLAC

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lily grapples with having her surname revealed to the school, certain they'll judge her for her parentage.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wow it sure would be great if i could remember if i put this at the beginning or end last chapter
> 
> anyway sorry it's been a bit since the last update!! i started a massive video essay project, so i've been busier than usual.

As Professor Goodwitch announced the names of the other new teams, Lily had to fight the urge to run off with each passing minute. She got the feeling her new ‘teammate’ Cobalt didn’t know who she was, nor did the hyperactive girl or that damned Xiao Long girl.

Gods, of all the people here, one of the first she’d interacted with had to have been one of Team RWBY’s offspring. How completely and utterly awkward. Hadn’t helped that Cobalt and Luna had specifically chosen the same relic, each taking a silver coin, just to be placed on the same team together. Which meant Lily would be sharing a team with her too.

And it was only about to get worse. The moment Goodwitch announced her name, she was done for. If everyone in the school didn’t already know who she was, they’d know then. And Lily would have nowhere to go to escape it. She’d trapped herself here, doomed to four years of judgement.

She listened to the names as they were read out.

Team SRBY (strawberry), consisting of Storm Hunter, Rowan Coldstone, Birch Aster and Yarrow Cypress.

CDMM (cadmium), consisting of June Celadon, Dodger Blu, Madder Lake and Maisie Goldenrod.

And then, it was her turn.

“Luna Xiao Long, Cobalt Scarlatina, Astra Katt, Lily Sustrai,”

Lily wanted to shrink into the ground as she stepped forward with the others and the eye of every person in the room seemed to turn on her. She wanted to sink into the ground. Luna and Cobalt were both staring at her, recognition flooding into their eyes.

 _Yeah, yeah, I’m the daughter of a famous criminal,_ She thought bitterly, _you can stop pretending to like me now_.

“The four of you chose the silver-coated coin,” Glynda continued. “From this day forward, you will work together as Team LLAC. Led by Luna Xiao Long.”

 _Of course._ Lily almost groaned out loud.

Claps and cheers arose from their audience, but Lily knew they weren’t for her.

Beside her, Luna was almost frozen stiff, her eyes wide. What, like she was surprised? Of course, someone like her would get the privilege of deciding what everyone else did.

On her other side, Cobalt passed her to wrap Luna in a hug. Astra did too, with a squeal of excitement. Lily stood alone, hands shoved into her pockets.

It wasn’t as if she was jealous of Luna’s position. The last thing she’d have wanted was even more attention. So why, then, did she have a such a hollow feeling in her gut?

Without waiting for the others, Lily turned and walked off the stage, though footsteps gave away that her new ‘teammates’ had followed her anyway. She pulled her hood over her head, wishing she could pull it over her entire body and disappear into it.

With her hood obscuring the top half of her vision, she almost walked right into Coco Adel, Glynda’s right hand. Thankfully, she walked right past her and swept Cobalt into a hug instead.

Lily watched them, suddenly missing her mother. How long would it be before she got another hug? How long would it be before she could even see her in person again?

“I’m so proud of you.” Coco told Cobalt warmly. “You did great out there.”

“Aw, hey, it wasn’t just me,” Cobalt insisted, pulling away from her with a look of embarrassment. “These guys were great too.”

Coco put her hands on her hips and grinned at Luna and Astra. “Of course! You’ve got the makings of a great team in you,” She lowered her sunglasses and winked. “Not as great as mine, though.”

Lily almost turned away in exasperation, but then Coco turned to look at her. “You did great too,” She commented. “Love your weapon.”

Lily’s discomfort grew. “Uh…thanks.” _What is she being so nice for?_ Her mother had fought Coco in the Vytal Festival back in the day and won with the use of her Semblance. After the fall of Beacon, many had concluded that Emerald and her partner must have used some dirty trick to do it, not to mention how embarrassing the loss had been for Coco and her team. So, why bother being polite? Why couldn’t anyone here just be honest about their feelings instead of feigning friendliness? All that did was make it hurt all the more when Lily knew what they really thought.

Coco chuckled. “Sorry, I’m probably embarrassing you all. I’ll let you get to your dorms and have a rest.” She gave Cobalt a kiss on the head. “Have fun kiddo.”

Cobalt grinned. “I will.” Coco headed off to talk to the other teams, leaving the four teenagers alone together.

“So, are we going to our dorms, or what?” Astra chirped.

Lily wished she could go there alone.

Cobalt nudged Luna. “What does our leader think?”

Luna looked around to where the new students’ luggage was piled in the corner of the room. “Well uh…we should probably grab our bags first.”

“Oh, right!” Astra bounced on the spot. “Good instincts, team leader!”

Luna looked embarrassed and Lily almost felt sorry for her. Almost. Being socially anxious didn’t mean this girl wouldn’t still hate her.

As the group headed to grab their bags, Astra continued rambling on about how ‘great’ and ‘amazing’ this school was. As if. Lily couldn’t even imagine having the energy this crazy girl had. She was beginning to get a headache from the noise, even despite the fact her hood helped block some of it.

She grabbed her suitcase and followed the rest of the team to the dorms, trailing behind them and trying to tune out their conversation. This place wasn’t ‘great’. It wasn’t ‘amazing’. This was a nightmare disguised as a school, filled with bigots and people who would judge others for things they had no control over. It was the opposite of ‘great’.

Astra was the first to burst into their shared room. “OOH, bunk beds!” She squealed. “Aaahhh, I’m always wanted to sleep in one!” She bounded over and climbed onto the top of one, jumping on with enough force to make the whole structure wobble. “This is so cool!”

“Neat.” Cobalt walked past Lily into the room, dropping his bag beside a shelf. He glanced back at Lily. “Mind if I take the top?” It was the first thing any of the team had said to her since before the ceremony.

“Whatever.” Lily dragged her suitcase to the other set of bunk beds and slumped onto the bottom bed, leaving the suitcase beside it and rolling over so that she faced the wall. She wished she could go to sleep and wake up again for this all to be a dream. Above her, Cobalt had jumped up, the bed creaking slightly under his weight. Lily’s annoyance grew.

“ _Sticker time!_ ” Astra announced. A thump on the floor suggested she’d jumped straight down from her bed without using the ladder. Next thing she heard was the zipping open of a bag and the faint noise of paper piling into the ground.

“Are those pride stickers?”

Luna’s inquiry caught Lily’s attention and she couldn’t resist rolling over to look. Astra had dumped the contents of a small bag onto the floor and there were indeed pride flag stickers among the mess. Specifically, the lesbian and transgender flags.

“Yeah!” Astra replied with a grin, sitting down and sifting through the pile. “I printed them for myself a few days before packing, but you guys can use some if it’d be appropriate.”

Lily almost asked for a trans sticker on the spot, but snapped her mouth shut. As if these people needed one more thing to judge her for.

“I-I’ll take a lesbian sticker.” Luna reached forward and grabbed one. “It’d look nice on my scroll.”

“I’ll have to pass,” Cobalt commented from above Lily. “Unless you have a bi flag hidden in that pile somewhere.”

Astra gasped. “I don’t, but I would _love_ to make you some. I brought my printer!” She dove into her suitcase and pulled out a small machine. Lily stared at her. This girl had brought an _entire sticker printer_ to a school? Who did that??

Cobalt grinned down at the energetic girl. “Sounds great. You can do it later though, I don’t mind waiting.”

“Yeah, I think we should all maybe try to get some rest,” Luna piped up. “It’s been a pretty tiring day so far.”

“You guys are tired _already_?” Astra asked incredulously. “I could go on for hours yet!”

 _Of course you could._ Lily rolled back over.

“I’m sure you could,” Luna replied to Astra. “But could you maybe calm down a little so the rest of us can rest? Just a bit?”

This girl _really_ needed to learn to be more assertive if she wanted to make it as a team leader. Or a Huntress, for that matter.

“Oh…right!” Astra sounded apologetic. “Sorry. I’ll tone it down a bit.”

“Thank you,” Luna replied warmly. “Maybe have a look around and start picking where you want your stuff to go?”

Lily heard Astra bounce to her feet. “Ooh, great idea!” She fell quiet, aside from her excited footsteps around the room.

In that moment, Lily almost felt grateful for Luna. But that didn’t change anything. It didn’t change the fact her parents had done nothing to help Emerald after Lily had been born. It didn’t change the fact that Luna’s head had probably been filled with stories of Emerald’s crimes. It didn’t help that she and all of the others probably still placed blame on Lily as well.

One thing was for sure. In four years, Lily would be out of here. And she’d been happy to never see these people or this place again.


	6. Proper Introductions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Boredom leads Astra to decided to have her new team properly introduce themselves.

Astra tapped her leg absent-mindedly as she sat on the floor against the wall. She’d already finished deciding where to put all of her stuff and now she was bored again, waiting for her new teammates to get their rest.

She still couldn’t understand how they could possibly be tired already. Had their exciting fight against the Ursa not filled them with energy? Or they fact that they were _officially_ in training to become Hunstman? The day was hardly even half over!

All the same, she’d respect Luna’s wishes. She’d asked nicely, after all, and Astra could appreciate that. She was so used to people in charge snapping at her to sit down and be quiet that it was a nice change to be led by someone so kind and patient. Not that Luna had even been a leader for _long_ , but Astra could already tell she’d be a good one. Kind, smart, pretty, all the natural qualities. And she was a lesbian too, which was always a plus.

Cobalt was nice too; it was nice to know a guy that wasn’t constantly trying to speak over all of the women in the room. In fact, he seemed quite the opposite, happy to follow anyone else’s lead. He was cool.

Lily though, now she was a weird one. Astra had met some pretty grumpy people in Atlas, but she hadn’t expected to find one so grumpy _here_. Who could be unhappy at _Beacon_? With all its nice people and all the trees? And yet, Lily seemed like she’d rather be anyone else and Astra wondered what she was even doing here if that were the case. She seemed like she needed a hug, but Astra had the feeling she’d get her head bitten off if she tried.

“Can you _please_ stop that tapping?”

Astra winced at Lily’s sudden annoyed voice. It was like she could hear her thoughts…

“Sorry,” She replied sheepishly. “I got kind of bored.”

Cobalt’s head poked up from over the side of his bed. “We can probably do something quiet if you want.”

Astra perked up instantly. “Ooh! We should introduce ourselves more!”

“How so?” Cobalt inquired.

Astra scrambled forward and sat cross-legged in the middle of the room. “We can sit in a circle and formally introduce ourselves! And say, like, our name, Semblance and a fact about ourselves or something!”

“I’d be down for that.” Cobalt climbed down from the ladder and sat near Astra. “Luna, you in?”

Luna peered over her book at them. “Yeah, sure.” Folding a corner, she closed her book at sat down with them.

Before anyone else could say anything, Lily stood up. “I’m having a shower.” She said abruptly, snatching up her suitcase and leaving the room.

Astra stared after her. “Not to be rude or anything, but what’s her problem?”

“I think it’s me,” Luna commented, looking downcast. “I got the feeling back in the forest, but…if her mother was Emerald, then she probably feels uncomfortable being here with me, all things considered.”

“I thought she looked familiar, but I couldn’t place it until the ceremony,” Cobalt added.

Astra was confused. “What’s the problem with that, though? I know Emerald was like…one of the bad guys, but isn’t she fine now? Team RWBY helped her in court and everything.” She vaguely remembered hearing about it.

“Yeah, but the history’s still there,” Luna replied. “I think Lily just feels awkward being around the daughter of people who once fought against her mother.”

“I don’t think it’s just you, Luna.” Cobalt placed a hand on her shoulder. “I may not have your Semblance, but something tells me she feels that way about everyone. Like the world’s out to get her for what her mother did.”

Sympathy stabbed Astra in the get, an unusually low feeling for her. “That’s sad,” She commented. “It’s not her fault. Nobody should blame her for stuff that happened over 20 years ago.”

“I know,” Luna nodded slowly. “That’s why I’m not bringing it up. I think she’d prefer if we didn’t talk about it.”

“Right,” Cobalt agreed. “We just need to give her the space she needs until she warms up to us. She’ll realize in time that we’re not judging her for anything like that.”

Astra’s legs started to ache from sitting cross-legged and she flicked them out to place her feet on the ground. “Alright, well uh…who wants to start with the introduction thing?”

“I’ll go.” Cobalt offered. “My name’s Cobalt Scarlatina, I’m bi, like to draw and I can control like…rocks and stuff. With my mind.”

“Ooh, yeah! You did that back in the forest,” Astra remembered. “Very cool. What’s your limit?”

Cobalt looked thoughtful. “Well, I can’t move, like, anything massive. I think the biggest I can do is a small boulder. Pretty heavy, though. The bigger the rock, the more effort it takes.” He pulled his dagger out of his belt. “I like to use it to reinforce this.”

Astra grinned. “Useful! It’ll be cool to see you actually do that. Next outdoor training session, you’ve gotta show me.”

“Deal,” Cobalt chuckled. He looked to his right. “How about you, Luna? Care to tell Astra what you can do?”

Luna blushed. “It’s not a big deal…”

Astra leaned forward in interest. “Aw, come on! I bet it’s awesome!”

Luna ran one of her hands over her ponytail. “Okay, well uh...I’m Luna Xiao Long, I live on Patch…or, I did, at least. And I can kind of…sense other people’s emotions.”

Astra’s eyes widened and her mouth dropped open with a gasp, her tail shooting into the air.

“ _You can vibe check people!?_ ”

“Uh.”

Astra darted forward and grabbed her by the shoulders. “Do it right now! Vibe check me!! What am I feeling right at this very moment??”

She sat back and bounced excitedly as Luna’s face grew concentrated.

“You’re uh…overwhelmingly excited.”

Astra squealed. “You’re right! I totally am!!” She brought rested her head on her hands. “Gosh, that’s amazing. You’re so cool!!”

Luna’s whole face turned red for some reason. Was she not used to compliments or something? Or did it just get warmer in here? Astra certainly couldn’t feel a temperature difference, but maybe she was just to excited to tell.

“O-okay, well uh…do you want to go now?” Luna asked.

Astra bounced. “Right, yeah!” She placed a hand on her chest proudly. “I’m Astra Katt, I really like love hearts and smiley faces and I can – oh wait!” She leaped to her feet and darted over to the window, pulling the curtains shut and cloaking the room in darkness. Couldn’t show off her Semblance without the right lighting!

Sitting back down to a confused Luna and Cobalt, Astra got comfortable and prepared herself. Taking a deep breath, she focused her energy and lifted her hand. From her palm arose a small, floating ball of glowing light that drifted lazily even after she removed her hand.

“Ta-da!”

Luna and Cobalt’s eyes widened as they stared at the light, their faces bathed in it.

“That’s beautiful…” Luna breathed.

Cobalt nodded slowly. “It’s like a firefly but…without the bug. And bigger.”

Astra felt a glow of pride. “It’s useful in battle too. If I throw it really hard or hit it with Light of the Party- that’s my weapon, by the way- it can do a ton of damage.”

Luna reached out a hand. “Can I…touch it?”

“Sure!” Astra chirped. “It only hurts if I throw it.”

Luna’s hand brushed against the glowing ball, her expression changing to one of wonder. “It’s almost…soft, but still smooth somehow. I’ve never felt anything like it.”

“That’s really neat, Astra.” Cobalt smiled kindly at her. “You must be pretty pleased with it.”

Astra grinned. “Yeah, it’s pretty great.” She waved her hand through the ball and it disappeared, letting darkness fall onto the room again. She stood up and walked over the open the curtains again. “I discovered it when I got stuck outside at night once, as a kid. There was no moon out and I got really scared, but then this ball of light appeared from my hand. It made me feel better and I stayed in place with it until my mom found me.”

“I found mine while training with Fox and Yatsuhashi, before I started training at Signal.” Cobalt chuckled. “I almost throw a rock at Fox and we were all really confused before we figured out what happened.”

“I don’t really know when I got mine.” Luna commented. “It’s kind of just…always been there. I thought it was normal until I actually mentioned it to my moms.”

The door to the dorm opened and Lily walked in, now wrapped in a green dressing gown, her hair still wet. She looked embarrassed as Astra, Luna and Cobalt glanced at her.

Astra waved. “Hey, Lily! We’re talking about our Semblances, what’s-”

Lily’s eyes narrowed and she cut Astra off. “That’s none of your business.” She stopped and seemed to compose herself before continuing, “Just…leave me alone. Please.” She stomped over to the bed, leaving her suitcase beside it, and lay down with her back to the others.

Luna gazed at her, pity in her lavender eyes. “Well, uh…feel free to chat, if you want.”

“I’m good, thanks.” Lily muttered in reply.

Luna’s face fell and Astra placed a hand on her shoulder like Cobalt had done earlier. She said nothing but offered a smile. Luna smiled softly back and pleasure flared in Astra’s chest. So, this was a gesture she liked, then. Good to know!

“Ooookay, well. Do you guys wanna unpack now?” Cobalt asked, breaking the silence that had fallen.

Astra’s tail shot into the air. ”Yes!! Finally!!” She bounced over to her suitcase. “Okay, so I’ve picked out where I want all my stuff to go, but I’m happy to negotiate if any of you guys wanna put anything in the same place. You’ll know which stuff is mine, ‘cause it’ll have stickers on it.”

Luna chuckled. “Good to know.”

As Astra unpacked, her gaze fell to Lily again. It was going to take some work, but with the help of these new friends, she was sure she’d be able to get through to her. And once she did, Team LLAC- _her_ team- would surely become the best to graduate from Beacon since team RWBY. Well, not that RWBY had graduated from Beacon. But still!

This was going to be fun, she was sure of it.


	7. Doubts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After two weeks of leading Team LLAC, Luna worries about her shortcomings as a leader.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> but blaire didn't you just upload yesterd- YEAH I DID BUT I'M IMPATIENT so take this early 
> 
> jaune stans rejoice its your boi again

“Luna.”

The whispering of her name awakened Luna blearily from a dream she couldn’t quite remember the details of.

“Luuunnnaa.”

She opened her eyes and jumped back with a yelp when she saw Astra right in front of her face.

“Astra!” She complained. “I thought we talked about waking me up by doing that!”

Astra leaned back and tapped her fingers together. “Yeah, I know. Sorry. But uhh…” She glanced back at Lily and Cobalt, who stood behind her. “I just thought you should know that it’s 9 o’cl-”

“ _What!?_ ” Luna attempted to leap out of bed, but her foot got caught int the sheets and she crashed to the floor. Undeterred, she shot back up to her feet. “Why didn’t you guys say anything??”

Astra looked sheepish. “Well, I meant to wake you earlier, but then I remembered you asked me not to do that, so I played some video games, then Lily and Cobalt got up and asked why you weren’t up, so I told them I hadn’t wanted to wake you early, but then they were like ‘but it’s almost 9 o’clock’, and I’d just let the time slip past me sooooo I figured I should get you up.”

Luna made frustrated noises and tossed her sheets, which had fallen onto the floor with her, back onto her bed. “Gods, we’re gonna be late…” She fretted. “Just let me get dressed; I’ll be as quick as I can.”

As she grabbed her clothes and darted into the small dorm bathroom, Lily scoffed behind her. Luna’s heart sank. Two weeks now and she’d made no progress with her teammate whatsoever. There’d been times where she’d thought she’d be able to get something out of her, but it always ended the same, with her or one of the others being brushed off. One time, Lily had brought a nice potted fern into the room to keep beside her bed. Luna had asked her about it and she’d actually replied, but her answer had ended with ‘plants won’t judge you for anything’ and Luna hadn’t known what to say. Another time, Cobalt had noticed Lily watching him while he sketched, but she’d turned and walked off when he’d spotted her. There was seemingly no way to let the girl know that her team genuinely wanted to be her friend and Luna’s hope was running out. Maybe a better team leader would know how to handle this situation. She still couldn’t figure out what in the world Glynda had been thinking. Surely Cobalt would’ve been a better choice? At least he knew what he was doing most of the time.

With her clothes on loosely, she burst back out of the bathroom. “Alright, let’s go!”

As the team rushed out of the building to head for the classrooms, Luna’s guilt grew. Not only had she made no progress with Lily, but now she was responsible for her team being late to class. She’d kept them up late last night to study for a history test and hadn’t considered that it would cause her to sleep in by accident. She’d never call Glynda or Coco stupid, but they’d certainly made the wrong choice here.

As they burst open the door into the combat training classroom, every eye in the room turned to them.

Jaune looked up from where he stood at the front of the room.

“Ah, team LLAC,” He grinned at them. “Nice of you to join us.”

Luna’s face burned hot with shame. “I’m sorry!” She exclaimed. “It’s my fault; I kept us up studying and I slept in. It won’t happen again, I promise!”

Jaune waved his hand. “Hey, don’t worry about it. Being a few minutes late to class never killed anyone.”

Luna sank into her seat and rested her head on the desk in front of her. Thank the Brothers Jaune was leading this class. Anyone else and she’d have been doomed, she was sure of it. But that didn’t stop her from feeling deeply ashamed.

Thankfully, it seemed that Jaune’s lesson had only just started.

“Today’s focus is on using our Semblances in combat,” Jaune began. “Now, some of us, myself included, have Semblances that aren’t directly useful when it comes to attacking, so this won’t apply to everyone. However, you might still have something to learn from it, so pay attention.” He stepped around his desk to stand in the room’s small arena. “For those of you who do have an attacking Semblance, raise your hand.”

Beside Luna, Astra’s hand shot up, as did a couple of others.

“Good thing that Lily girl doesn’t want to.” Luna heard a snicker from beside her. “Wouldn’t want anyone getting killed.”

 _What??_ Luna whirled around, anger flaring inside her, but she couldn’t figure out who’d spoken. Were there really some people who actually felt that way about Lily?

“Miss Katt, enthusiastic as always,” Jaune noted. “Would you like to come up here?”

Luna turned back to face forward again, her skin pricking with annoyance, trying to ignore what she’d heard and hoping Lily hadn’t been listening.

“Sweet!” Astra jumped over her desk and headed over to him. Luna leaned forward in interest; she still hadn’t seen Astra’s Semblance in combat, and she was curious to see its effect.

Jaune stepped to the other side of the floor. “Draw your weapon.” He instructed Astra.

“Wait,” Astra looked confused. “Am I gonna be fighting you?”

Jaune nodded. “This _is_ a combat class, Mis Katt.”

“Right, but I don’t wanna hurt you or anything.”

Jaune chuckled. “Don’t worry kid, I’ve got a thick shell. You won’t get a scratch on me.”

Astra grabbed Light of the Party from where it was rested on her back and extended it into its hammer form. “Well, alrighty then.”

“Now, I want you to use your Semblance in this fight, however you wish.” Jaune instructed.

Astra grinned widely. “Awesome.”

Jaune drew his sword from its sheath and expanded the sheath into its shield form. Luna leaned forward even more. It had been a long time since she’d seen her uncle fight.

Astra conjured a ball of light and flung it at Jaune, who dodged nimbly out of the way. The ball crashed into the wall beside him and dissipated. Frowning, Astra drew another ball. She threw it and again, Jaune dodged.

Luna stared intently. Why wasn’t Jaune attacking? What if one of the balls hit him?

But shot after shot, Jaune dodged them all, almost dancing as he avoided any hit.

Astra was looking exhausted. Her eyes narrowed; she conjured another ball, but this one was far bigger than the rest. Stepping back, she then ran at it, drew back her hammer and then swung it at the light with full force. The ball sailed straight in Jaune’s direction, but this time, he didn’t dodge. With a grin, he lifted his shield and Luna saw his Aura flow out into it. As the ball of light hit the shield, it rebounded with a flash and headed straight for Astra, slamming into her and sending her into a wall. Luna stared as her partner’s Aura flickered and depleted.

On the other side of the room, Jaune sheathed his sword and walked over to help Astra up. “Good fight,” He praised her. “But you’ve still got a thing or two to learn. Now,” He addressed the rest of the class. “Can anyone tell me what Astra did wrong here?”

Several hands raised.

“Mr. Scarlatina, what’s your theory?” Jaune asked.

Cobalt sat back in his chair. “She used her Aura up too quickly,” He commented. “You only had to hit her once to knock her down because she’d already depleted her Aura from using her Semblance too much.”

Astra frowned at her hands. Beside her, Jaune nodded. “Exactly,” He confirmed. “The biggest downside to our Semblances is that they take some of our Aura every time we use them. If you charge in too much with it, you’ll have finished the fight for your opponent before they even land a hit on you. And in a real fight, that can get you in big trouble.”

Astra looked embarrassed. “I guess I wanted to show off a bit.” She admitted.

“Not to worry,” Jaune told her warmly. “We’ll have plenty of time to work on that. Go sit down and rest; you’ve earned it.”

As the lesson continued, Luna’s heart wasn’t in it. Her mind kept coming back to the comment about Lily she’d overheard. What kind of leader was she if she hadn’t eve noticed that there really were some people holding animosity towards her teammate? What could she even do about it?

Relief swamped her when the class finished an hour later, but as she headed to leave, Jaune called her back.

“Hey, let’s talk for a second. Something’s up.”

Luna tried to brush him off. “Nothing’s-”

“Hey, come on,” Jaune cut her off. “I’ve known you your whole life. You usually love these classes.” He sat down on his desk and patted the space beside him. “Come on, tell me what’s wrong.”

Sighing, Luna walked over and sat beside him. “I…I think Glynda made a mistake,” She admitted. “I don’t think I should be a team leader.”

Jaune huffed. “Oh boy, _that_ sounds familiar.”

Luna flapped her hands, remembering that he’d had similar doubts at her age. “That’s different though!” She protested. “You actually _are_ a good leader! _You’re_ not letting your team be late or struggling to get through to a teammate who hates your guts.”

“Okay, for starters, I think _every_ team’s been late to class before, whether they have a good leader or not,” Jaune pointed out. “But I haven’t always been a good leader. I’ve made mistakes, and I’m still making mistakes now. You can’t expect to get it right first try.”

Luna put her hands to her head. “But this is _me_ we’re talking about! I don’t know how to deal with... _people_! You can’t be a leader with extreme social anxiety!”

Jaune chuckled. “You’d have thought you can’t be a leader without any knowledge of combat either, but I managed.” He rested a hand on her shoulder. “You have other strengths,” He assured her. “You may be a little anxious, but you’re kind, patient and you know how to fight. You’ll work on your weaknesses in time.”

Luna drew her knees up to her chin. “It still doesn’t make any sense,” She insisted. “Why me when Cobalt’s right there? He’s great with people _and_ at fighting.”

“But he’s not a leader,” Jaune explained. “Cobalt’s a smart kid, but he works best when he’s being told what to do by others. Even as a kid, he chose to follow you around instead of choosing to lead himself.”

Luna couldn’t argue with that. “I guess.”

Jaune continued. “And with Lily, while she’s a great fighter, she's stubborn and unwilling to work with others. And Astra…” He scoffed jokingly. “I don’t think I need to explain what a disaster that’d be.”

Luna chuckled. It was true, she was still probably a better leader than Astra might’ve been.

“My point is,” Jaune said warmly. “You’ve all got your flaws, but you’re still the best suited to the job. And in time, you can work on your flaws and help them with there’s. I’ve got faith in you.”

Luna smiled. “Thanks, Jaune. I’ve missed your sage advice.”

Jaune grinned. “Always here to help. Now, go find your team. They’re probably wandered around aimlessly without you there guide them.”

“Pff, I doubt it.” Luna hugged him before jumping off the desk and heading out of the classroom. She still had her doubts, but her spirits were lifted now. She’d get through to Lily; she had to. And if she could do that, then maybe she could prove to herself that she was fit for this role after all.


	8. Blame

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lily's mistrust and guilt come to a head.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (bastille plays in the background)
> 
> O FUK IT'S THE BIG ONE god i've been SO EXCITED TO WRITE THIS CHAPTER YOU GUYS HAVE NO IDEA so excited, in fact, that i wrote the whole thing YESTERDAy, RIGHT AFTER CHAPTER 7 anyway ENJOY

Lily crashed to the ground, throwing up dust, and Cobalt followed suit.

She rolled over, trying not to feel the pain in her knees and hands and she picked up Evening Jade from the ground. Her Aura flickered, before shattering. As Lily turned her head to check on him, Cobalt’s did the same. Another failed battle. She picked herself up and turned to face her opponents, Storm Hunter and Rowan Coldstone of Team SRBY.

“Better luck next time.” Rowan sneered.

Lily glared at her. Had Coco not been watching, she was sure the redheaded girl would’ve had some nastier insult to add. What a brat.

Storm leaned over to help Cobalt up.

“You gave us a good fight,” They told him. “Hope we didn’t hit too hard.”

Storm was far more polite and friendly than their teammate, at least, but Lily still got smug vibes from them. At least Rowan never tried to hide what she really thought.

“The win goes to Storm and Rowan,” Coco announced. “Good job, you two.”

Lily tucked Evening Jade into her pockets and headed for the benches.

“That’ll be it for sparring today,” Coco continued. “Everyone can go and get some rest.” As Cobalt passed her, she gave him a pat on the shoulder. “You did good out there,” She praised.

Lily watched them, a pang in her chest. Cobalt could lose any fight and Coco would still praise him. She missed Emerald with a passion, wishing she were at home.

Luna and Astra met Cobalt and Lily in the doorway as they exited the building and Lily suppressed a groan. Just once, couldn’t they leave her be?

“You guys did really good!” Luna praised as they walked. Lily could tell she was forcing it.

“We still lost.” She muttered in reply, hoping her tone would silence her.

Naturally, it didn’t. Lily could never be that lucky.

“I think some more sparring in our spare time could really help you,” Luna continued. “Or-or maybe just some more communication? I think if we knew your Semblance-­”

Lily stopped, turning to face Luna and cutting her off. “I already told you that’s none of your business.” She snapped.

Luna rubbed the back of her head. “I know, but I really think it could help…if I knew what it was then maybe I could figure something out…”

Lily gritted her teeth. “Just drop it, would you?”

For a moment, it looked like Luna was going to, but then she shook her head and narrowed her eyes. “No, Lily, this can’t wait,” She insisted. “You can’t just keep your Semblance a secret; we’re all counting on you to-­”

Something in Lily snapped and the truth burst out before she could stop it.

“I don’t _have_ one, okay!?”

Her teammates stared at her, their stunned silence infuriating Lily even more.

“Are you happy now?” She snapped. “Is that what you wanted to hear? Something else for you to shun me for, so you can talk how horrible I am behind my back or something?” She knew they did it. She’d caught them glancing at her and whispering. As if they thought she didn’t already know what they thought.

Luna’s eyes were wide and shocked. “We don’t think that!” She protested.

“Oh, don’t give me that bullshit!” Lily hissed. “I know what you think; I know what you _all_ think. You think I’m some criminal scum, that I’m going to be some villain. You think I shouldn’t even be here, as if I don’t already know that!”

Cobalt stepped forward. “Lily­-”

Lily whirled on him. “No! I’m not just going to let you stand here and keep lying to me! Just be honest, tell me you hate me! Tell me you think I’m a criminal!” She could feel tears welling behind her eyes, but she wasn’t going to let them fall. Not here, not in front of everyone.

“Lily, we don’t hate you!” Luna insisted, stepping between her and Cobalt. “We don’t believe you’re a criminal, you’re not like your mother!”

Luna looked like she regretted the words the moment she’d said them, but Lily didn’t care. Her rage turned to a cold fury and she looked Luna dead in the eye.

“My _mother_ isn’t a criminal either.” She seethed.

Luna shook her head, eyes wide with horror. She reached out to place a hand on Lily’s shoulder. “I didn’t mean-­”

Lily flinched away, her hand instinctively reaching for one of her weapons. “Don’t fucking touch me!” She yelled. In that moment, she realized people were watching. Not just Luna, Astra and Cobalt, but other students and staff too. They were staring. Judging.

Luna’s eyes were fixed on the weapon Lily had started to draw. Horrified of herself, Lily threw it to the ground. Everyone still stared.

Burning with shame and fury, Lily turned and ran. She didn’t know or care where she was going; she just wanted to get away from the judgment, the stares. She’d drawn a weapon on her _teammate_. She could almost hear what they’d been thinking; only a criminal would do something like that. And were they wrong?

Finding herself in a wide, empty corridor, she threw herself against the wall. Even alone, she still refused to cry, though her eyes were burning from the pressure. She tried to breathe deeply, as her mother had taught her, but her breath only came in short gasps. It took several passing moments for her to calm, but all of her shame and anger still burned at her core, trying to claw its way back out again.

Sinking down the wall, she realized the surface behind her was metal, not the rough stone of most of the other walls. Curious, she turned, stepping back to look.

Oh.

It was a memorial plaque, a large brass one that almost spanned the whole wall. Lily didn’t have to read the golden letters up the top to know what it was there for, but she did anyway:

_‘For those lost in the Fall of Beacon’_

So many names. So many _lives_. Lily felt pain rise up inside her as she scanned through them. Students, teachers, and regular citizens of Vale alike that had been lost to Cinder’s attack, all named here.

Right near the middle, Lily’s eyes fell on one in particular, one that she knew would’ve been there, but it still hurt all the more to see- Pyrrha Nikos. Pyrrha, who had died at the hands of Cinder, shortly after Lily’s mother had tricked her into tearing apart Penny Polendina.

She reached out to touch the letters, amazed that she could feel such sorrow for someone she’d never even met.

“It can be hard, the first time you really see it.”

Lily jumped at the sudden voice, turning to see Jaune Arc approaching her. He stopped beside her and looked at the plaque, memories seeming to swim in his mind.

Lily didn’t know what to say. Of all the people to show up now, it just had to be him. One of the people who’d been hurt the most by this attack.

“I…” She had to ask, lifting her head to stare at him. “Don’t you hate me? Or my mother?” She asked, her voice breaking.

Jaune looked at her, his expression unreadable. Finally, he answered, “Why would I?”

Lily tried not to shake. “My mother…she played such a big role in this…” She stared at the plaque. “All the lives that were lost, she was a part of that. She hurt so many people…”

“That had nothing to do with you,” Jaune insisted. “It was before you were even born. And if I’m being honest, I don’t blame Emerald for any of it.”

“But how can-­”

“Listen,” Jaune interrupted softly. “Your mother may have done a lot of bad things, but she was also a _kid_. Cinder took her in off the streets and made her feel as if she owed her everything, even if it meant hurting other people to please her. And when she finally realized the truth, she fought as hard as any of us to fight back against Cinder and Salem, even though she was terrified of what would happen to her. She more than made up for what she’d done in the past.”

Lily sunk against the wall. “But what does that change? Everything that happened still _happened_.”

Jaune sat beside her. He was quiet for a moment, before speaking. “Losing Pyrrha was the most painful thing that’s ever happened to me,” He said softly. “She was more than a teammate; she was my best friend and when she died, I felt like my world was over. But instead of blaming the person who actually killed her, I blamed myself. Cinder was too out of reach for me, so I put all the hatred I should’ve felt for her onto me. I told myself that, if I’d been stronger, or if I’d tried harder to stop her, she’d still be here.” He paused, closing his eyes briefly. Lily felt a wave of sympathy for him; over 20 years and it must still hurt for him as much as it did then.

Jaune continued. “It took a while, but I finally ended up accepting that there was nothing I could have done. Pyrrha made her choice, and Cinder was the one who took her. It was a hard realization to come to, but I knew it was right.” He took a deep breath. “My point is, when something bad happens and there’s nobody to blame, or the force to blame is out of reach, people will blame themselves. It’s a bad habit of humanity. The Fall of Beacon, or anything else, was never your mother’s fault. It was always Cinder and Salem. But they’re gone now. There’s no-one left living to blame.”

Lily stared at the ground. “I think she does still blame herself. My mother, I mean. I think that’s why she never reached out to any of you after you helped her win her case.” It almost felt good to be admitting this to herself. She felt her fury slipping away.

“You know, we never knew she had a daughter.” Jaune commented.

Lily looked up in surprise. “You didn’t?” Was that why nobody had ever offered help? Had Emerald not _told_ anyone?

Jaune shook his head. “We didn’t just hear less of her after the case, we didn’t hear from her at _all_. We figured she needed to space to figure things out on her own.” He managed a half-smile. “Guess we should’ve tried to check up on her anyway, huh?”

Shame washed over Lily and she buried her face in her arms. “…I think I’ve been a shitty teammate.” She muttered.

“Well, pulling your weapon on your leader probably isn’t a great idea.” Jaune replied bluntly.

 _Oh Gods._ Lily looked up at him sheepishly. “You saw that, huh?”

Jaune chuckled. “I think half the school did, kid.”

Lily sighed deeply. “I overreacted, didn’t I?” She’d seen the horror in Luna’s face after she’d said what she did and yet had blown up at her anyway.

Jaune’s hand on her shoulder surprised her, but she didn’t flinch away. The gesture was comforting, almost parental, though Lily knew Jaune had never had children of his own. “Hey, don’t worry about it too much,” He assured her. “If I know Luna, she’ll be just as torn up about this as you. I think things will be okay if you talk to her.”

Lily huffed. “Kinda feel like none of this would’ve happened if we’d done that from the start.”

Jaune shrugged. “Talking can be hard sometimes.” He stood up. “Come on; I’ll walk you to your dorm.”

Lily felt apprehensive. “People are gonna stare at me, huh?”

Jaune smiled apologetically. “Probably. You did cause a scene.”

As Lily walked back with them, people did stare, but she tried her best to ignore them, not even pulling her hood up. She went over what she should say in her head. Should she apologize first? Try to explain herself?

When they got to the door of her dorm, Lily hesitated. She turned to Jaune pleadingly. “Help me?” She begged.

Jaune grinned. “Sorry kid, you’ve gotta do this yourself.”

Lily sighed. “I know, you’re right.”

“Good luck.” Jaune gave her a pat on the shoulder before heading back down the corridor.

Taking a deep breath, Lily placed her hand on the door’s handle and pushed it open slowly and hesitantly. As she walked in, three heads turned to stare at her and Luna stood up quickly.

Lily cast her eyes to the ground, unable to look her in the eye. “I’m sorry…I…” Tears welled up in her eyes and she didn’t try to stop them this time. “I was embarrassed and angry and I shouldn’t have yelled…”

Luna hurried up to her, shaking her head furiously. “No, no, I’m the one who should be apologizing!” She insisted. “I didn’t mean to say that about your mother; I got the words mixed up in my head and it all just kind of came out…I should’ve just talked to you about this from the start, but I never knew what to say and I thought you’d rather not discuss it…Lily, I’m so sorry.”

Lily brushed her tears away with the sleeve of her hoodie. “I’ve been hypocritical.” She admitted. “I convinced myself that everyone here would judge me for stuff I had nothing to do with, but I judged you for exactly that. And the thing I blamed you and your parents for wasn’t even their fault…” She looked up at Luna. “I think we need to talk. And not just us.”

Luna nodded. “Yeah, that’s probably a good idea. But we can talk to our parents later. For now, I think…I think we should just focus on you.” She rubbed her arm, looking hesitant. “Is it…okay if I give you a hug?”

The question surprised Lily, but she nodded. The hug Luna wrapped her in was warm and comforting and Lily realized that wiping her years away had been pointless because they came back again. She hugged her back and her tears grew even stronger as Cobalt and Astra joined them.

“You don’t have to be friends with us if that makes you uncomfortable,” Luna told her gently. “But I still want us to be a good team and I want you to be a part of it.”

“I’m going to be a better teammate,” Lily sniffled. “I promise.”

As the group hug ended, Lily brushed her tears away again. For the first time, she smiled at her team. “So…can we talk?”


	9. Introductions: Lily Edition

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The team finally get to know Lily a little better and Cobalt has a chat with his stepmother.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey guys!! sorry the wait for this one was so long; getting chapters 6, and 8 out so quickly burned me out and then i got sick :( but it's finally here! a rather uneventful chapter, but a nice one all the same (i hope)

“Alrighty everyone!”

Cobalt watched Astra as she stood in the middle of the room, hands on her hips.

“Time to play Introductions: Lily Edition!” The ginger-haired girl announced. “Everybody sit!”

Cobalt shot a kind smile at Lily as all four team members sat in a square on the floor. They’d given her the night to relax after what had happened yesterday and she was now ready to open up a little. Cobalt couldn’t describe the relief he’d felt when she and Luna had come to an understanding; if his best friend and his partner had spent too long at odds, it’d have made for a difficult year. And he was glad Lily seemed happier now, of course. He didn’t think he’d ever seen her smile before yesterday.

“You know,” Cobalt pointed out cheekily to Astra. “Don’t you think Luna should be in charge of this? You know, our leader?”

Luna grinned. “He’s got a point.”

Astra poked her tongue out at Cobalt. “Okay, now let’s get this one thing straight,” she started, “Luna may be our _team_ leader, but _I_ am the leader of _friendship_. I deal with friendship things.”

Luna nodded. “Checks out.”

Cobalt leaned forward and placed his fist under his chin. “Okay, so what about me? Am I the leader of anything?”

Astra looked thoughtful. “Hm…you’re…the leader of…being chill.”

Cobalt sat back and nodded, satisfied. “Checks out.”

Astra smiled at Lily, who sat between her and Cobalt. “What about you, Lily? Wanna be the leader of anything? I’m very good at assigning roles.”

Lily looked mildly surprised, holding up a hand. “N-no, that’s okay. I don’t need to be a leader of any kind.”

Astra shrugged. “All good. You can be the leader of not leading anything.”

Lily looked unsure of how to answer. Luckily for her, Astra seemed to finally remember to get back on track.

“Okay, so!” She chirped, her green gaze fixed on Lily. “Tell us everything about yourself.”

“Uh, within your comfort zone,” Luna added. “You don’t have to tell us anything you’re not comfortable with us knowing yet. Or even ever.”

Lily gave her a nod. “Okay, well uh…my name is Lily…I’m 17 and the daughter of a reformed criminal…but that’s all stuff you guys knew already, so…” She looked awkward, her eyes glued to the floor.

Cobalt offered her a smile. “Hey, don’t worry,” he assured her. “We won’t judge you for anything.”

A small smile crossed Lily’s face. “Right. Okay, well…I’m also a transgender woman and bisexual, if that’s anything.”

Astra looked delighted. “You’re like a mix of Cobalt and me!!”

Cobalt didn’t bother correcting her grammar.

Astra stared at Lily and it was easy to imagine stars in her eyes as if she were in a cartoon. “Do you want one of my stickers?”

Lily tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. “Yeah, that’d be nice. I wanted to ask for one a while ago, but…”

Astra squealed and immediately wrapped Lily in a hug, only for the other girl to flinch away.

“Astra.” Luna warned, clearly having picked up on Lily’s discomfort.

Astra pulled back at once, covering her mouth with her hands. “I’m sorry!” She squeaked. “I really need to work on that…”

Lily smoothed down her hair. “It’s okay, I just…really don’t like being touched without my saying so…or much at all, really. It always feels weird.”

“I’ll remember that, I promise.” Astra swore earnestly.

Cobalt nodded. “I’ll remember too. We all will.”

Lily smiled at him. “Thank you. I appreciate it. Is there uh…anything else you guys want to know?”

Cobalt thought for a moment. “What combat school did you go to? You’ve got some pretty great moves.” Not Signal, he was guessing; he couldn’t recall ever seeing her around. Then again, she probably wouldn’t have made herself noticeable.

“Actually, I didn’t go to one,” Lily replied. “My mother trained me, in case I ever needed to defend myself against…” She rubbed her arm. “You know, against people who might hold a grudge.”

Luna blinked in surprise. “Really? I mean, I got some training from pretty much my whole team as a kid, but for one person to do it all themselves…your mom sounds pretty tough.”

Lily nodded. “Yeah, she raised me totally on her own. My father walked out before I was born, and my mother didn’t feel like she had anyone to turn to. It’s been just us for seventeen years.”

Luna looked sympathetic. “I’m sorry you guys have had to deal with so much on their own. I wish my parents could’ve helped out more.”

Lily stared at the ground and sighed. “They probably would have if my mother had just told them something. I understand why she didn’t, but it would’ve made things a lot easier.”

“I think we should get them together to talk,” Luna commented. “Team RWBY and your mother, I mean. There’s still time to make things right.”

Lily nodded slowly. “That’s a good idea, yeah. I’ll call her about it and let you know what she says.” She stood up.

Luna looked up at her. “You’re going now?”

Lily glanced at the clock on their wall. “Library closes soon,” She explained. “My scroll doesn’t have a video function, so I need one of the terminals. Probably better I do it sooner than later.”

“Oh, shoot!” Cobalt jumped to his feet. “I’ve got a book I was supposed to return earlier, do you mind if I come? I won’t listen into your conversation or anything, promise.”

Lily shrugged. “If you want.”

So some of that bluntness was still there, then. It would probably take a while for Lily to completely drop her guard, Cobalt figured.

Grabbing the book from his bed, he followed Lily out of the dorm building and into the school’s library. He’d always loved coming here, not necessarily for the books, but because it was simply a nice, quiet place to hang out, with lovely décor to boot. He always enjoyed gazing at the various paintings hung around the walls.

As Lily headed off to use one of the terminals in one corner of the room, Cobalt spotted a familiar figure out of the corner of his eye and turned to see Coco combing through one of the bookshelves. He dropped his book into the drop-off box and headed over.

“Hey,” He greeted her. “Didn’t expect to find you here. You don’t read.” He teased.

“Finding something for your mother,” Coco replied. “And for the record,” She gently batted one of his ears. “I’ve read _plenty_ of books, thank you very much.”

Cobalt grinned. “Yeah? What about? And fashion magazines _don’t_ count.”

Coco scoffed jokingly. “I’ve read entire fashion _novels_.”

“Got me there.”

“So hey,” Coco suddenly became more serious. “I heard about what happened with your team yesterday. Is everything okay?”

Cobalt glanced across the room at Lily, who was at a terminal facing away from them. “Yeah, actually. The whole thing was due to a lack of communication, but we’ve been talking things out. I think we’ll be fine, given time.”

Coco smiled. “I’m glad to hear it. Lily sounds like a good kid. I’d have felt really bad if I’d have to re-assign teams or anything like that.”

Cobalt couldn’t resist his curiosity. “What did you think when she applied here? When you saw her last name, I mean?”

Coco shrugged. “Nothing, at first. Glynda and I weren’t aware that Emerald even had a daughter, so we figured that they probably weren’t related. Couldn’t deny it when I first saw her though, but I’ve still never had any reason to judge her. Or her mother, for that matter.”

“Emerald beat you in the Vytal tournament, right?” Cobalt inquired. “Do you ever feel upset about that?”

Coco chuckled. “No more than anyone else who’s ever lost a Vytal battle. Her tactics were…shifty, but there’s no rule against using whatever Semblance you happen to have. I was honestly surprised to find out she was with Cinder. She could be a little smug, but I wouldn’t have expected her to be a criminal. It was good to find out she’d left that life behind.”

Cobalt gazed at Lily again. “I think it’d do Lily some good to hear stuff like that more often. She doesn’t feel as welcome here as she should.”

Coco ruffled his hair. “I’ll be sure to let her know how well she’s doing some time. It’s good to hear you looking out for your partner, kiddo. Although…” Her expression grew concerned. “I wouldn’t say her concerns are entirely unfounded. In the years since the final battle I’ve heard a lot of whispers and complaints from those who believe Emerald didn’t deserve to go free.”

“I guess she had a good reason not to trust any of us to begin with,” Cobalt commented, sympathy weighing on his chest. “She’s been dealing with this her whole life.”

“If you ever notice any students giving her hell, let me know, okay?” Coco placed a gentle hand on Cobalt’s shoulder. “Or any discrimination, for that matter.”

Cobalt twitched his ears, knowing he’d gotten dirty looks for them just in the few weeks he’d been here. “I will.” He promised.

“I may not run this school- yet,” She added with a wink. “But I’ll still do everything in my power to make sure bullying isn’t tolerated here and I’m sure Glynda will too.”

Cobalt felt a warm glow of love for her. “Thanks, mom.”

Coco pulled him into a hug. “Anytime, kiddo.” Releasing him, she added. “Now, help me find this sewing book. Velvet’s been asking for it for days and she’s getting impatient.”

Cobalt chuckled. “Sure.” As he helped Coco delve through the books, worry still stuck in his mind. After all these years, there were still people out there who discriminated against people for things beyond their control. And despite Coco’s promise to deal with them, Cobalt knew it wouldn’t be that easy. It never was. Back at Signal, he’d known a student that had been notorious for using slurs against Faunus and sometimes even hurting them. The school had suspended him, only for the student’s father to threaten filing charges unless his son was remitted. Things never seemed to work out fair in that way. He looked at Lily again and decided he at least had to try. She probably didn’t consider him a friend yet, but Cobalt hoped he could be one to her in time. And no matter what the odds, no matter how fair a situation was, Cobalt would never fail to stand up for his friends. Not in a million years.


	10. Similarities

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Astra shares her story with a teammate and the team has a bonding experience through the wonder of shopping.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> helllooo this starts the three chapters i'm aiming to get out before the 13th because i'm deeply worried that i'll lose the energy to write once my uni classes return, so i want to get these ones out asap. enjoy and look forward to the next! oh, and keep an eye out tomorrow for llac's updated ref~

Studying had gotten rather boring for Astra, seeing as she’d already finished before Luna and Cobalt had. It wasn’t that she was necessarily smarter than them, just that she read and wrote fast, so all of her notes had already been taken in a scribbled mess that only she could read.

Going back to her dorm wouldn’t be _much_ more fun than sitting in a quiet, stuffy library, seeing as Lily was out for a special birthday lunch with her mother, but at least Astra could use the time alone to print some stickers or something. The rest of the team were always annoyed by the noise of her printer.

But when she opened the door, the dorm wasn’t empty after all. Lily lay on her bed and when she turned to face her as she walked into the room, Astra couldn’t help but notice the dried tears on her face.

“Woah, are you okay?” Astra asked her, concern shooting through her. “Did everything go fine with your mom?”

Lily sat up and wiped her face. “Yeah, it’s…it wasn’t that. It’s fine.”

Astra frowned. “No offense, but you don’t look very ‘fine’.” She walked across the room and sat beside her. “Wanna tell me what happened? We are supposed to talk more, after all.”

Lily sighed. “Someone recognized me while I was walking back here and yelled that they didn’t want any criminals near them. They threw a cup at me.”

Astra’s eyes widened as her concern grew. “Are you okay? Did they hurt you?”

Lily shook her head. “It was just an empty foam one. It was what they said that really mattered.” She looked away. “I probably can’t expect you to understand.”

Astra hesitated briefly, before letting her energy drop enough to get properly serious. This wasn’t something she’d spoken about to anyone else before. “I understand better than you think.” She replied simply. “We’re not really that different, you know.”

Lily glanced at her. “What do you mean by that?”

The memories were painful to think of, but Astra let them come as she explained anyway. “I grew up as a transgender faunus in _Atlas_. It wasn’t exactly easy.”

Lily’s gaze shot to the ground. “Right, I…I shouldn’t have assumed. You just always seem so happy…”

Astra shrugged. “I am. I’m happy a lot. But that doesn’t mean I’m not still hurt by the things some people say and do.” She brought her knees up and rested her chin on them. “I realized I was trans when I was eight. My mother was totally supportive, but we couldn’t find anywhere in the city that would prescribe me puberty blockers at that age. So, for four years, I was subjected to discrimination and hate from people just because I didn’t look the way they thought a girl should. And then when you add being a faunus on top of that…” She gave a bitter laugh. “Some people wouldn’t even let their kids hang out with me because they thought I might be ‘dangerous’.”

Lily’s eyes were full of sympathy. “I know exactly how that feels. I’m sorry you had to deal with it too.”

Astra found her gaze drifting out the window. “Discrimination for things people can’t help is always going to be a problem, I think.” She stated. “And I don’t think there’ll ever be a time where we won’t be hurt by it. But my mother always told me to face it with a smile. Someone insults you, you laugh along and do it back as if they’re the funniest clown you’ve ever met. And never let them see how much they’ve hurt you. It only gives them power.”

“Hm,” Lily leaned back. “Good advice, in theory, but I’m not sure that’ll work every time.”

Astra chuckled. “Probably not, no. But it’s fun when it does work.”

Lily grinned. “Maybe I should try it sometime.”

At that moment, Luna and Cobalt came through the door; Luna dropping her books on the floor with a thud and flopping onto her bed.

Astra bounced to her feet. “Nope! No resting yet!”

Luna didn’t even look up. “Whhyyyyyyy.” She moaned.

Astra jabbed a finger at Lily. “Because Lily’s had a not-very-good birthday and we’re fixing that!”

Lily blinked in surprise. “Uh…we are?”

Astra grinned at her. “It’s your 18th, right? That’s special!”

Luna lifted her head out of her pillow and blinked at Astra with tired lavender eyes. “What did you have in mind?”

Astra flapped her hands impatiently. “Shopping, of course!” She looked back at Lily. “Unless you’d prefer something else.”

Lily blinked. “Uhh…I honestly don’t know. The lunches with my mom are all we’ve ever been able to afford to do to celebrate before.”

Astra gasped dramatically. “So you’ve never even had a _party!?_ Shameful! We’re totally grabbing part supplies while we’re out.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Cobalt chipped in. “I’m in!”

Luna rolled off the bed with a thud. “Alright. I’ll sleep later.”

“Great!” Astra grinned triumphantly. “Let’s get going.” Grabbing her wallet, she bounced out of the room, her team following behind.

As they walked, Lily hurried to catch up to Astra.

“So, uh…what exactly are we shopping for?” The dark-haired girl enquired.

“Anything you want!” Astra replied enthusiastically. “What’s something you’ve always wanted, but could never get before?”

“Ah…” Lily looked awkward. “It’s kind of dumb.”

“Hey, nothing will be too dumb,” Luna piped up. “It’s your birthday and we’re not going to judge you, remember?”

“Well…I have kind of always wanted a leather jacket.” Lily admitted sheepishly.

Astra gasped. “Oooohh, you’d look great in one!” She squealed. She could picture it now; a stylish leather jacket would look much better on Lily than that baggy old hoodie.

“You know,” Cobalt added. “A leather jacket isn’t quite complete without the right outfit.”

“True,” Luna agreed. “We’ll probably need to get some matching jeans, maybe a nice shirt…definitely a belt, with actual holsters so that she can put her weapons in them instead of in her front pocket.” She glanced back at Lily with a playful grin. “That’s not too safe, you know.”

Lily blushed. “Wait, I can’t ask you guys to buy me a whole new outfit!” She protested. “It’ll be so expensive!”

“Uh, you’re not _asking_ us,” Astra insisted. “We’re _giving_. That’s the point of a _gift_.”

As the team headed into town, Lily continued her flustered protesting, but Astra wasn’t about to let up, nor were Luna or Cobalt. They were a team! And good teammates got their teammates cool birthday presents! Besides, it was probably about time Lily got an outfit change, Astra figured. Hoodies and baggy pants were fine enough for cold weather, but it was spring now! If she kept that hoodie on while the weather got warmer, she would most definitely roast. Astra wasn’t sure how warm Vale got in summer, but it would surely be too warm for a hoodie, unlike Atlas. Cold, hard, miserable Atlas. Astra would be happy if she never went back.

They travelled around to various clothing stores- plus a party store, of course- and ended up grabbing bags from three different ones while also stopping by at a café to grab the fanciest cake they could find. As they went, Astra could tell Lily’s mood was lifting. Even when the occasional townsperson shot the group a nasty look, Lily made no attempt to hide and Astra felt a warm glow of pride for her. She hadn’t been sure that she would ever be able to befriend the moody teenager, but now she was certain that she’d be able to form a friendship with her. And she probably couldn’t even call her moody anymore, to boot. She was still fairly antisocial and still didn’t smile much, but things had been getting better and better since their talk. It made Astra practically glow with delight.

By the time they returned to the dorm, their arms full of bags, the sun had almost set, sending long, contrasting shadows across the room’s floor. A chuckle floated in the air as Astra and Cobalt discussed their favourite band.

“…They’re not that great live,” Cobalt commented as he placed his bag, containing the cake, on the small kitchen’s bench. “But I think their point is how good they are with using electronics to make themselves sound good.”

“Oh yeah, absolutely,” Astra agreed. “I mean, have you _heard_ their remixes? They’re practically experts.”

She tossed her bag to Lily. “Go get changed!” She instructed eagerly. “I wanna see how cool you look.”

Lily grinned, looking happier than Astra had ever seen her. “I still can’t believe you guys actually brought all this…”

Astra tapped her foot impatiently. “Come oonnnn, just go already!”

Lily chuckled. “Okay, okay, okay! Give me two minutes.” She ducked into the dorm’s bathroom, closing the door behind her.

Luna tipped the bag of party supplies onto the bench. “Are you sure we needed all of this?”

“Of _course!_ ” Astra insisted. “This is her 18th _and_ her first birthday party!! If anything, we should be doing _more_.” She frowned. “Pity they won’t let first-years have alcohol on campus…” She slammed her hands on the table. “Now help me blow up balloons and put up streamers!”

Luna chuckled. “Whatever you say, ‘leader of friendship’.” She grabbed a balloon and began puffing air into it, while Cobalt grabbed a roll of streamers and began taping them around the walls, being the only one tall enough to reach.

As Astra grabbed a pile of balloons and sat herself down on one of the bench chairs to blow them up, Lily came back out of the bathroom. Astra immediately jumped back up with a gasp, all the balloons spilling onto the floor.

“You look amazing!” She squealed.

Lily shuffled her feet shyly. “Do I?”

“Of course!” Luna assured her. A thought seemed to pop into her mind. “Oh, wait! You need one more thing to tie it all together.” She headed over to Lily, pulling a hair-tie out from under her sleeve. “Do you mind?”

Lily shook her head. “Go ahead.”

Luna gently grabbed most of Lily’s dark hair and pulled it into a ponytail, tying it together with ease. Suddenly, it was easy to remember that she had a little sister.

“There.” Luna hurried over to one of the bedside desks and grabbed a mirror, holding it up to Lily. “What do you think?”

Lily stared for a moment, as if she could barely recognize herself. Tears formed in the corners of her eyes, but for once, they weren’t from negativity.

“I look…pretty.” She breathed.

“You say that like you didn’t before.” Cobalt chuckled warmly.

Lily ran her hands over the strands of hair Luna had left hanging loose. “I just…I didn’t think I could look this good. I never thought I’d have clothes this nice…” More tears fell from her eyes and she sniffed, wiping them away. “Thank you, guys…this is really nice.”

Luna smiled softly. “Hey, after all you’ve been through, you deserve something nice.”

Astra felt her glow of pleasure grow brighter, the light inside her filling her entire body. Perhaps it shouldn’t have been surprising, but helping people felt good, better than anything that could’ve happened to her. The pure kindness and compassion wasn’t exactly something she’d seen a lot in Atlas, except for from a few select people she’d only met a couple of times. It made her wonder, was this just something that was more common in Vale, or had she just lucked out in the team she’d wound up with? Whatever the case, she was grateful and proud. Deep down, she wasn’t entirely sure she deserved it, but she was happy all the same. Far from her days in Atlas, she was truly, completely happy.


	11. Standing Up

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An unpleasant interaction leads to trouble.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wasn't sure i'd get this out today but i have reason to stay up late so i managed to get it done!! unintentionally another long one. whoops.

“I still don’t know why people complain about the food they serve at schools,” Astra commented, stabbing a piece of chicken with her fork. “This stuff’s great!”

Lily poked at her peas, making sure to separate them fully from her mashed potato. “It’s not bad,” She agreed. “Doesn’t beat a home-cooked meal though.” She smiled, remembering her mother’s casseroles. Oh, how she missed them.

“Gods, yeah,” Cobalt looked wistful. “Yatsuhashi made the most amazing quiches and Fox could make the _best_ Vacuan crab.”

Astra wrinkled her nose. “Gross.”

“It’s not actually that bad,” Luna piped up. “I had it once when I slept over there as a kid.”

“It’s nice that you two have been friends for so long.” Lily tried not to let her slight jealousy show.

Cobalt offered her a smile. “Well hey, hopefully in a decade or so, we’ll have been friends with you for a long time, too.”

Okay, that made Lily feel better. Sometimes it was still hard to believe that her team really did care about her; that they actually did want to be her friend and seemed to have no intentions of stabbing her in the back. It was nice.

“What’s this? Team LLAC are actually _sitting_ together?”

Lily’s good mood vanished instantly, lifting her head to see Rowan Coldstone and Birch Aster of Team SRBY staring her down with identical smirks on their faces.

“What do you two want?” Luna asked bluntly, already looking as tired of them as Lily felt.

Rowan’s eyes widened with fake sympathy. “Well, I’m just _concerned_! _I_ certainly wouldn’t feel safe around a criminal.”

Lily’s fist clenched and she gritted her teeth.

“We wouldn’t want her pulling a gun on you again.” Birch sneered.

Hands slammed on the table.

“Would you just shut up!?”

Lily stared at Astra in shock as the ginger-haired girl glared at Rowan and Birch, her teeth bared.

“Just leave her alone; you don’t know anything about her!” Astra snapped. Lily couldn’t help but be slightly intimidated; she’d never seen the girl angry before and she pulled it off well.

Rowan looked down her nose at Astra, clearly unimpressed. “You think I’m going to take shit from a cat-tailed freak?”

Anger stabbed into Lily and she wasn’t the only one. A chair skidded across the floor as Cobalt stood up, his face full of sudden fury.

“What did you just say to her?” He snarled. Across from him, Luna shrunk down, though Lily could see the anger in her eyes too.

Birch sauntered right up to Cobalt, somehow standing higher than the already-tall faunus.

“You got a problem with my girlfriend, bunny boy?” He sneered.

Lily had a feeling Cobalt might have punched him right then and there, had mashed potato not flown across the table and splattered all over Birch’s uniform. All eyes turned to Astra as she glared at the boy, mashed potato dripping from her hand.

“You straight fucks really piss me off.” She hissed.

Birch looked wildly offended. “What did you just call me??”

“I called you straight, dipshit,” Astra replied, her voice dripping with scathing annoyance. “It’s what you are.” Suddenly, she let out a startled squeak as water splashed all over her.

“Aw, does the kitty not like water?” Rowan crushed a now-empty bottle in one hand as she smirked at Astra.

That was the final straw for Lily. She grabbed an apple and got to her feet, ready to aim. With a sigh, Luna stood up as well, almost seeming reluctant as she picked up her entire plate.

Birch went to stand by Rowan, flicking potato off his shirt. “So, you little shits want to fight, is that it?”

“We don’t have to if you just back down,” Luna told him. Lily couldn’t help but notice that she shook slightly as she spoke, “Just leave us alone.”

Rowan sniffed. “Scared you’ll lose, princess?”

That was it. Astra was the first to move, hurling a glass of milk at the other teens, Cobalt following suit with a heavy-looking bread loaf. Lily dodged as Birch grabbed half a rockmelon from another table and hurled it at her and threw her apple right back at him. Luna’s plate whizzed through the air, only to be dodged by Rowan and crash into the wall behind her.

Around them, students began to hurry away from the fray, clearly wanting to stay out of things. As Lily dodged another melon, she briefly wondered where the other two members of Team SRBY were and why they were doing nothing to aid, nor control their teammates.

As Luna was knocked to the ground by a heavy salad bowl, Astra stopped briefly to throw her a concerned look before her face darkened and she leaped onto the table, conjuring a massive ball of light with both hands. As Lily watched, she hurled it at Rowan like a fastball, slamming the teenage girl into the wall with enough force to crack the plaster. Birch responded with his own Semblance, slamming his foot into the ground and sending a shockwave throughout the room that knocked Astra off the table and onto the floor.

The food fight was over; this was a proper battle now. One without weapons, but a battle all the same.

Lily clenched her fists and sent a punch flying into Birch’s face, hard enough that he might have gotten a black eye were it not for his Aura. Rowan, having recovered from Astra’s attack, body-slammed her to the ground, unaware of Lily’s physical strength as she threw her right back off.

Lily removed her jacket and let it drop to the floor, letting Rowan get a full look at her muscles as she flexed. If these two assholes hadn’t known what they were dealing with before, they sure as hell did now.

Seemingly giving up on her, Rowan turned on Cobalt instead, who was running at her with full force, grabbing him by the shoulders and flipping him onto his back. Her smugness gone, she glared down at the rabbit-eared faunus and held out her hand, her weapon appearing in it with a glow.

Lily froze in horror, having forgotten about Rowan’s teleportation Semblance. She prepared herself as Rowan lifted her heavily-spiked club to strike.

“What in the name of the Gods is going on here?”

The six teenagers froze as Coco’s sharp voice rang out. Rowan’s spear instantly vanished again and Astra let go of Birch, who she’d pinned to the ground, and stumbled to her feet.

Coco peered over her sunglasses from the entrance to the cafeteria, her gaze sweeping over the scene. “Well?” She prompted. “Is anyone going to even try to explain?”

Rowan’s smugness returned in an instant. “They started the fight,” She replied, her voice high and indignant. “Birch and I were just defending ourselves.”

Coco sighed, annoyance clear on her face, even with the sunglasses covering her eyes. “Rowan, Birch, go to your dorm and stay there until I say so. I’ll be talking with you later.”

With a final glare at team LLAC, the two teens dusted themselves off and left the room. Lily almost sighed in relief.

“As for you four,” Coco addressed the team sternly. “You can come with me to my office. Clearly, we need to have a talk.”

Lily’s heart sank. Her first term and she’d gotten caught starting a fight with other students. Perfect. All the same, she and her teammates followed the vice-headmistress to her office, the mood low between them. Cobalt, in particular, looked deeply ashamed, and it wasn’t hard to guess why.

In the office, Coco seated herself behind her desk and leaned over, removing her sunglasses entirely to lay them on the desk and fix them with a gaze full of stern disappointment. She heaved a sigh.

“So, what happened for you four to feel the need to start a fight?” She prompted. “I expected better from all of you.”

Cobalt wouldn’t meet her eyes. “You didn’t hear what they were saying.”

“They called Lily a criminal!” Astra added. “Not to mention the derogatory terms to the rest of us…”

“They called faunus freaks.” Cobalt muttered, still not looking at his stepmother. “It wasn’t fair.”

Coco’s gaze softened. “I wouldn’t call a four-on-two fight ‘fair’ either.” She pointed out. “And what happened to telling me when this kind of thing happened?”

Cobalt finally looked at her, his face washed in shame and protest. “You don’t get it! I wouldn’t have cared if it was just me, but they lashed at out my teammate. I couldn’t just let that slip by! Those two are nothing but racist assholes who’ll judge anyone for the slightest thing they can think of.”

“Believe me Cobalt, I understand exactly how that feels,” Coco replied. “It’s never easy to see a teammate being bullied right in front of you and being expected to just deal with it.”

Cobalt looked away again, his ears drooping. Lily felt a pang of sympathy for him; earning a parent’s disappointment was never a fun feeling.

“But there’s a time and a place to start physical fights over it,” Coco continued, “And the school’s cafeteria is not one of them. You could have hurt other students and you made a mess of school property.”

Cobalt’s ears drooped lower and Lily was unable to keep herself from stepping forward.

“Please, don’t be upset with them,” She begged. “This only happened because they stood up for me; it’s not their fault.”

Coco gave her a wry smile. “You have a noble heart Lily, but your teammates are just as guilty as you are. I’m sorry, but you’ll all have to undergo some kind of punishment.”

Astra gave an unenthusiastic moan and Coco gave her an amused look.

“Don’t worry, it’s nothing grueling,” She assured her. “I assume you’re all aware that Professor Oobleck has retired?” At nods from the team, she continued, “His replacement will be arriving at the school tomorrow morning. You four can be in charge of giving her a tour of the school.”

Lily’s heart lifted; that didn’t sound too bad.

“I’ll also have to let your parents know about this.”

Ah, there it was. Lily’s heart sank again.

Coco’s voice softened as she addressed the whole team.

“You four have the makings of a great team,” She told them. “But it won’t do you any good to keep starting fights with students you might have to work side-by-side with one day.” She smirked. “And hey, don’t worry. There’s always sparring classes if you really want to take your anger out on them.”

Astra slammed her fist into her palm. “Good.” Lily couldn’t resist a smile.

Coco stood up and waved her hand dismissively. “Go on now, get out of here. And consider this an out-of-class lesson.”

Lily breathed a massive sigh of relief as the team exited the room.

“Well, that wasn’t fun.” Astra grumbled as the headed through the hallway.

“I wouldn’t say it was undeserved though,” Luna commented. “That fight ended up getting more…violent than it should have.”

Lily stopped walking; guilt weighed on her chest, but it was mixed with something else, an emotion she wasn’t sure she’d felt before. “Guys…”

Her teammates turned to her.

“Are you okay?” Luna asked softly. “I’m sure everything will be fine…”

Lily shook her head. “I know, I just…I wanted to thank you guys. For standing up for me, I mean.” She stared at her feet. “You probably already figured, but I’ve never really had friends before…so…thank you.”

Cobalt smiled at her. “Aw, Lily. That’s sweet.”

“We’ll always be here for you,” Luna promised. “Nobody’s going to treat you like shit when we’re around.”

Astra bounced slightly. “Is this a good time for a group hug? I feel like this is a good time for a group hug.”

Lily grinned. “Sure. I think we could use it.”

As the team pulled into a tight embrace, Lily felt her eyes welling with tears. Damn hugs and their habit of bringing the waterworks out of her. But right here, she had a team; she had _friends_. And they cared about her and defended her, even if it got them punished. Somehow, despite her shame at getting in trouble, Lily was happier than she’d ever been.


	12. New Teacher

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Team LLAC meet Beacon's new history teacher, a familiar face to Luna.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SHE'S HERE FOLKS i have waited a long time to bring her into the story...i hope i did her justice

The sky was cloudless as Luna and her team stood outside of the main building for the replacement history teacher to arrive and as her black hair soaked up the full sunlight, she was beginning to feel that her head might explode from the heat.

“This is more of a punishment than I thought it’d be.” She groaned.

“Are you kidding?” Astra stretched, looking blissful. “This sun is lovely!”

“You don’t have dark hair,” Luna pointed out. “Or sleeves.”

Astra shrugged. “So take your jacket off.”

Luna paused for a moment, wondering why she hadn’t thought of that, before removing her pale purple jacket and tying it around her waist. The sun felt much better on her bare arms; Astra was right about that. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed the other girl was staring, but she looked away so quickly as Luna turned to her that she figured she may have imagined it. Wishful thinking, probably.

“So, what do you think the new teacher will be like?” Cobalt asked, bringing Luna’s attention away from Astra.

Astra sighed. “Well if she’s going to be a history teacher, probably boring.”

“Hey, Oobleck wasn’t boring.” Lily pointed out from where she leaned against the building wall.

“Yeah, but he’s the exception,” Astra replied. “The history teacher at the prep school I went to was boring as shit.”

Lily shrugged. “I don’t mind, so long as she tells history right. Nothing worse than a history teacher who’s prejudiced against faunus or some bullshit like that.”

“I’m sure Glynda knows better than to hire someone like that.” Luna assured her.

“Hey, is that her?” Astra spoke suddenly. Following her gaze, Luna spotted a woman coming in through the gates.

_Wait, is that…?_

Luna knew that look anywhere. The curled ponytail, the large freckles dotting her skin. Catching surprized looks from her teammates, she rushed forward with a burst of excitement.

“Ilia!!” She squealed, throwing herself into a hug with the older woman. “It’s so good to see you!” It had been over two years since she’d last seen her family’s old friend and she’d come to miss her desperately in those times. Kindhearted and patient, Ilia had always stood up for her against racist humans and had always understood her anxiety. She was not quite like a parent to Luna, but more of an older sister. Outside of her mothers, nobody understood Luna like Ilia did.

“Well, this isn’t the reception I was expecting,” Ilia chuckled warmly, returning the hug. “It’s been a while, huh?”

Luna pulled back, suddenly confused. “Wait, are you the new teacher then? Is that why you haven’t visited in so long?”

Ilia smiled apologetically. “I wanted it to be a surprise,” She explained. “Hopefully, you didn’t miss me too much.”

“Woah hey, I know you!” Astra popped up next to Luna, the rest of the team behind her. “You’re Ilia Amitola!” She bounced. “You’re like, one of the biggest leaders in faunus rights from the past twenty years!”

Ilia looked her up and down. “And _you_ are most definitely related to Neon Katt.”

Astra squished her hands against her face, looking thrilled to be recognized. “She’s my mother!” She grinned. “And she _totally_ had a crush on you back when you went to school together, by the way.”

Luna suppressed a chuckle as Ilia tried not to blush at that. It was good to know that she was still the same lesbian disaster she remembered.

“Wait, you’re a faunus activist?” Lily questioned. “But you don’t even look like-” She broke off as Ilia turned bright orange with a smile. “Oh. That’s…pretty cool.”

Astra giggled in a squealing way as Ilia changed back, her eyes practically sparkling as much as her hair.

“Oh!” Luna jumped, suddenly feeling awkward. “Uh, Ilia, this is my team,” She gestured towards them. “Astra Katt, Lily Sustrai and Cobalt Scarlatina. We’re team LLAC.”

“Nice to meet you all,” Ilia replied politely. “So, you’re my tour guides then?”

“Yeah,” Luna looked at the ground awkwardly. “We’re were uh. Punished.”

Ilia raised an eyebrow. “ _You_ were punished? What did you do?”

“Some cishet racist assholes gave us shit, so we beat them up.” Astra piped up.

“Hah,” Ilia grinned. “Sounds like they deserved it if you ask me.”

Luna didn’t think there could be more awe in Astra’s expression at that moment.

“So, uh…do you want to get started?” Luna asked Ilia, eagerly wanting to get her hair under some shade.

“Lead the way.”

Luna and the team led her into the main building, where she almost sighed in relief as she escaped the glaring sun.

“This is the entrance hall,” She explained to Ilia. “Where we do stuff like ceremonies, announcements, stuff like that. It’s probably the same in Atlas.”

Ilia chuckled slightly. “I wouldn’t exactly know, you know. I’ve barely been there.”

“Wait,” Cobalt spoke for the first time since Ilia had arrived. “If you’re from Atlas, why come to teach here? Wouldn’t it be easier up there?”

Ilia shook her head. “I considered it, but if there’s one thing I learned while training for the position up there, it’s that Atlas isn’t fond of telling the whole truth when it comes to history,” She explained. “It’s against regulation to discuss anything that might be incriminating towards the Atlas military, for one.”

Astra looked both disgusted and surprised. “And Councilwoman Hill let that slide?”

Luna was surprised too; Robyn Hill had been quite the anarchist before joining the Council and even now that she was bound to the rules, she still did everything she could to change them, from what Luna knew.

“She’s been working in it, but it’s not like she’s the only member of the Council,” Ilia replied. “So, until they get their priorities in order, I figured I’d have more luck teaching here.” She smiled down at Luna. “Especially if it means spending time with honorary family.” Luna grinned back at her.

“Right, you fought in the final battle against Salem with Team RWBY, right?” Lily enquired. Luna could practically sense the burning question on her mind.

Ilia nodded. “And your mother too, actually. She had a lot of courage, fighting against her abusers the way she did. How’s she doing now? Doing any Huntress work?”

Lily smiled softly. “She’s doing okay; she hasn’t done any fighting since the final battle.” She looked away. “She’s…been worried about hurting people with her Maiden powers. She hasn’t actually used them since…you know.”

Ilia nodded. “I can understand that. Power can be more of a burden than a gift.”

“ _Hold the fucking scroll, what!?_ ” Astra burst out, staring at Lily. “Pardon my language,” She added to Ilia, “but _what!??_ Your mother is a _Maiden???_ ”

“Uh, yes?” Lily looked both confused and awkward as she rubbed her arm. “She gained the Fall Maiden’s powers after she killed Cinder. I thought everyone knew that?”

Astra put her hands to her head, looking bewildered. “I knew she’d killed Cinder, but I didn’t realize she’d gotten her powers!” She blinked several times. “I really should pay more attention to these things…”

“Ooookay, well,” Luna piped up, wanting to save Lily from the awkwardness she must be feeling. “Shall we continue with the tour?”

“Oh, right,” Astra replied. “Let’s go finish our punishment!”

As the team showed Ilia around the various buildings and classrooms, the awkwardness melted away, though Luna couldn’t help but wonder about Emerald upon the reminder that she was the Fall Maiden. She could understand the fear of not wanting to hurt anyone, but becoming a Huntress- a legal one- would certainly help the former criminal's reputation. That was why Lily was doing it, after all. She thought about Yang and Penny, the current Spring and Winter Maidens. Neither used their powers unless they absolutely had to, but they’d gained enough experience with them that they knew how to use them with precise control. Penny would probably be too busy, but maybe she could ask her mother if she’d be willing to help Emerald do the same?

As the team showed Ilia around the first-year dorms, Luna caught sight of none other than Rowan and Birch in the hallway, standing together and whispering- probably grumbling- about something. She groaned out loud.

Following her gaze, Astra sighed. “Ugh, I was hoping they’d be suspended or something.”

“Is everything okay?” Ilia asked. “Who are they?”

“They’re the students we fought with yesterday,” Cobalt explained. “After they insulted Lily and called Astra a freak.”

Ilia’s eyes narrowed. “I see. Give me a moment.”

Luna couldn’t help but smile as Ilia approached the bullies. She knew where this was going.

“You two are students, right?” Ilia asked them. “I just thought I’d introduce myself.”

Rowan looked her up and down. “And who are you supposed to be, exactly?” She snarked.

Ilia’s gaze hardened slightly, but she kept a falsely kind smile on her face. “You can call me Miss Amitola. I’ll be teaching your history classes starting tomorrow.”

Panic flickered across the faces of both students and Luna chuckled.

“Anyway,” Ilia continued. “I just wanted to let you both know that prejudice of any kind will not be tolerated in my classroom and will be met with punishment.” She smiled at them as their panic and discomfort grew. “But I’m sure you won’t need to worry about that. Have a nice day!”

The two teens hurried away as Ilia turned and returned to team LLAC. “That’s how it’s done, kids,” She chuckled. “I know I said power could be a burden, but it helps sometimes, too.”

“You’re amazing…” Astra breathed. Luna thought she might faint on the spot.

“I’ll admit, that was fun to watch.” Cobalt commented.

Luna gazed at Ilia as she chuckled along with the team, feeling the same adoring feelings she’d always gotten as a kid. If Ilia was teaching her now; if she was _living_ here now, things were going to be a lot more comfortable for her.


	13. Crushes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After a frustrating news report, Cobalt gets an unexpected offer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HI IT'S BEEN ALMOST A MONTH I'M SO SORRY my final term of university started up last month and it's kept me really busy!! just writing this one up was kind of a drag because i've had so little motivation for it but i got it out anyway! not my best work but hopefully the next will be better :)

Cobalt’s pencil danced across the paper as he sketched absent-mindedly, his mind not really in any place at all. It was when he was drawing or painting that he was at his calmest; when he could empty himself of any thoughts and worries and just exist in one moment of peace.

“What are you drawing?”

It was always interrupted by that question, of course. He looked up from the page to see Lily sitting beside him on her bed; he hadn’t even noticed her approach.

“Not really anything,” he answered, “Just a random profile.”

Lily squinted at the sketch. “Looks an awful lot like Storm Hunter for a ‘random profile’.”

Cobalt tried not to blush. “Well, it’s…not supposed to be.”

A rare teasing glint entered Lily’s crimson eyes. “They’re on your mind, huh? Got something you want to share with your partner?”

This time, Cobalt couldn’t hide the blush and closed his sketchbook. “I’m beginning to miss when you never talked to me.” He huffed jokingly, tossing the book onto the bedside table.

Lily leaned back. “So, why not ask them out? Surely it can’t go wrong, with all those ‘cool’ vibes you’ve got going on.”

Cobalt rubbed his neck, his ears dropping slightly. “I don’t know, I just don’t know them very well. They’re cute and all, but that’s really all I know.”

Lily shrugged. “All right, your choice. But I think you should consider it next time you’re pining.”

The door to the dorm opened and Astra walked in, rambling excitedly about fighting styles. Luna was at her side, her eyes fixed in her with full interest as she nodded every now and then.

Lily leaned over to Cobalt so that the two girls couldn’t hear her. “Speaking of crushes…” She whispered.

Cobalt chuckled. He wondered if Luna thought she was hiding it at all, considering she stared at Astra with adoration every time she spoke. Well, Astra, at least, never seemed to notice. For Luna’s sake, Cobalt hoped she would soon.

Astra finished her rambling and sat on Lily’s bed, pulling a remote out from between the mattress and bed frame. “You guys mind if I turn the TV on?” Without waiting for an answer, she switched it on anyway.

“ _-and in recent weeks, more reports of the criminal figure known as ‘The Ghost’ have been coming in from civilians_.”

“Ugh, news.” Astra lifted the remote to change the channel.

“No, wait,” Luna reached out a hand to stop her. “I want to hear about this.”

Cobalt looked at the screen too, curious. This wasn’t the first report on The Ghost that he’d seen, and he was definitely interested in knowing more.

“ _They came out of nowhere._ ” The man on the screen told the reporter. “ _I couldn’t even get a good look at them; all I could see was this dark figure. They knocked me to the ground and then they were gone._ ”

The interviewer switched to a policeman and Cobalt saw Lily narrow her eyes.

“ _What can you say about this criminal? Are you working to apprehend them?_ ” The interviewer asked.

“ _Right now, this case is at the top of our priorities,_ ” The policeman responded. “ _They’ve escalated from theft and small attacks; people are dying now. We’re working around the clock to identify and take in whoever is responsible for these vile acts._ ”

Luna bared her teeth, frustration plain on her face. “They’re leaving stuff out,” She expressed with annoyance.

Cobalt nodded. “From what I read yesterday they’ve only killed two people. One was a violent human who’d been threatening to kill a faunus and the other was a man who’d been stalking a teenage girl. Not to mention the medical reports that showed neither death were likely to have been intended by the attacker.”

“Seriously?” Astra stared at him. “Ugh, leave it to the police to twist things to protect the people doing harm.” She flopped back onto the bed. “I was hoping to _avoid_ stuff like that by leaving Atlas.”

“They’re the same everywhere,” Lily sighed, looking resigned. “They see someone doing good and decide they must be criminals just because they don’t follow their rules.”

“Well, that’s as much of that as I can stomach,” Luna passed the controller to Astra. “Go on, watch your cartoons.”

“Watch with me!” Astra begged her, sitting up again and grabbing Luna’s arm pleadingly. “I really think you’d like the one that’s gonna be on soon; it’s got big cool mechs and a nice, diverse cast.”

Luna smiled softly. “Yeah, okay. But I’d better like it.”

Lily leaned over to whisper to Cobalt again. “We should give them some space.” She suggested cheekily.

Cobalt snickered. “Of course.” He stood up and addressed Luna and Astra out loud. “We’re heading to the cafeteria. You guys want anything?”

“I’m good.” Astra replied, her eyes fixed on the TV. Luna shook her head.

“Well, have fun with your cartoons.” Cobalt gave them a wave before he and Lily left the room, closing the door behind them.

“Do you think anything will actually happen while we’re gone?” He asked Lily.

Lily scoffed lightheartedly. “Of course not. Luna wouldn’t confess her feelings in a million years and Astra’s not going to notice anything unless she does. The poor girls are utterly hopeless.”

Cobalt chuckled. “True,” He admitted. “I kind of feel sorry for them.”

Lily shrugged. “Well hey, we’ll be here for them if they need the help. And maybe they’ll surprise us and get there without us.”

“Maybe.”

“Anyway,” Lily continued. “I’m not actually hungry, so I’m gonna go find somewhere to talk to my mother about the meeting we’re planning with team RWBY over the holidays.”

Cobalt nodded. “I’ll see you later then.”

As Lily split off from him and headed her own way, Cobalt made his way outside to cross over to the cafeteria building. The sun was out in full force today and he wondered if he should just grab something to drink outside. No point in wasting the nice weather.

Caught up in his thoughts, he didn’t notice the figure approaching him until he was tapped on the shoulder. Startled, he whipped around and instinctively took up an attacking position, only to recognize the person as Storm and instantly jump back in embarrassment.

“Woah,” Storm chuckled, looking slightly taken aback. “Kinda jumpy, huh?”

Cobalt really hoped that wasn’t a reference to his ears. “Sorry!” He gasped, trying to compose himself. “Sneaking up on people in my family isn’t exactly uh…wise.”

“Ah, don’t worry about it. Happens to the best of us.” Storm replied kindly.

Cobalt tried not to stare into their eyes. “Well it’s a good thing I didn’t actually hurt you, I guess.” _Gods, that would have been awful…_

Storm chuckled again. “Sure. Anyway, I was actually hoping to run into you at some point.”

Cobalt tried to keep his face from turning red. “You were?”

“I heard about what happened the other day,” Storm explained. “Rowan and Birch were really grumpy about it, but I’m sorry they acted like that. I would’ve stopped them if I’d been there, but I was helping Yarrow study.”

“Oh,” Honestly, Cobalt had almost forgotten about it. “Well hey, it wasn’t your fault. You don’t have to apologize or anything.”

“I still feel bad,” Storm replied. “I want to make it up to you…could I maybe take you out to dinner this weekend?”

Cobalt froze on the spot, not knowing how to respond. “…Just me?”

Storm suddenly looked awkward. “Oh, well, you can bring your team if you want but I uh…” They gave Cobalt an adorable grin, their face red. “This is really just an excuse to hang out with you if I’m honest.”

Cobalt was still having trouble getting his brain to work. “Like…a date?”

Storm smiled sheepishly. “If you’re good with that?”

At the confirmation, Cobalt finally snapped himself out of it. “I- yeah, of course!” He managed. “That’d be really cool!”

Delight crossed Storm’s face. “Oh, great! Is Friday okay?”

Cobalt nodded, probably a little too enthusiastically. _Way to stay cool…_ “Yeah, Friday sounds good!”

“Okay, well uh…I’ll meet you by the school gates at five then.” Storm responded, looking as thrilled as Cobalt felt.

Cobalt grinned. “Nice.” _Nice???_ “I’ll see you then.”

“Right, well uh,” Storm looked around. “I guess I should let you go back to whatever you were doing then.”

“Oh, yeah,” Cobalt has completely forgotten about eating. “I’ll see you later then!” With an awkward wave, he turned and headed to the cafeteria without looking back. _That really just happened…_

As he entered the building and picked out a drink, his mind was drifting, his thoughts filled with silver hair and pretty hazel eyes and excitement rose within him as the realization began to hit him. He was going on a _date_. With his _crush_.

And by some miracle, he hadn’t screwed it up. Storm seemed to _like him back_.

He found himself grinning, not caring when he got confused looks from the other people in the cafeteria. This weekend was going to be amazing.


	14. Inspiration

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Astra and Luna talk about their motivations and Cobalt reveals his news.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WHOO TWO IN A ROW after dragging myself through yesterday's chapter my motivation came back so i was able to get this one out pretty quickly!! with any luck, my university assignments won't get too much in the way of future chapters and i'm really looking forward to what i've got planned~ good stuff coming up!

“Oh man, that was a hell of an episode,” Luna commented, staring at the screen as the credits rolled. “It’s so cool that they have a genderfluid character…that poor girl though…”

Astra grinned at her. “Right? Episode four is my favourite.”

She couldn’t help but feel a rush of excitement that Luna was enjoying this show. She couldn’t explain why, but she’d been relieved and grateful when Lily and Cobalt had left them to it. Spending time alone with Luna was great, nicer than any time she’d spent with anywhere else, though part of her worried that it was just because of her parents. She hoped not, but she couldn’t think of any other reason. It was best not to dwell on it.

“Agh, I want to find out what happens next, but these episodes are so much longer than I thought they’d be.” Luna said, pounding her fists on the pillow she had on her lap.

Astra grabbed the remote and paused the program. “We can take a break if you want,” She suggested. “We’re halfway through, so now’s probably a good time.”

Luna blinked at her. “All right, well…what else do you want to do?”

Astra paused. She hadn’t actually thought that far ahead. “I don’t actually know.” She admitted.

Luna shifted and looked to the ground. “Maybe we could…go grab some lunch together?” She looked flustered, confusing Astra. What was so awkward about lunch?

She shrugged. “I dunno, I mostly just wanted to chill in here. Maybe we could just play a game or talk about stuff?”

“Oh, right. Yeah, talking sounds nice.” Was that a flash of disappointment in Luna’s eyes as she spoke? Feeling a pang of concern, Astra sought to make her feel better.

“Tell me a story about yourself!” She prompted. “I love hearing you talk; you should do it way more.”

Luna’s face turned red as she grinned sheepishly. “You’re just saying that.”

“No, really!” Astra grabbed a pillow and held it close, wiggling deeper into the bed and gazing at Luna eagerly. “Tell me anything!”

“Okay, let’s see, uh…” Luna looked thoughtful. “I guess there’s the time I first saw a huntress in action, outside of the sparring matches I’d watch between RWBY and JNR.”

Astra leaned forward, excitement rising in her chest. “Yes, please!”

Luna settled back and leaned against the bedpost. “Okay, well…I would have been about six. Ilia was babysitting Blaze and I while our parents were on a mission. We were at the park and she’d gone to get some water. The moment she was gone, some teenaged humans came up to us,” Her face darkened. “It started just as them making fun of us but then they started taking it further. They were pulling at my tail and Blaze’s ears. We both got really scared and I was terrified that they'd reallt hurt us.”

“If they did, I’ll hunt them down and kick their asses.” Astra whispered.

Luna chuckled. “They didn’t, don’t worry. Ilia showed up again just in time. At first, she just tried intimidating them but when they didn’t back down, it was pretty clear they were looking for a fight.”

Astra stared at her, fully enraptured. “Did Ilia beat up some teenagers…”

“I wouldn’t say ‘beat up’,” Luna corrected. “But she did tase them a bit with her weapon. They ran off crying like children.”

Astra wiggled and clapped her hands together. “That’s so cool! I mean, I’m sorry that happened to you, but it’s cool Ilia was there to stop them. You must really look up to her, huh?”

Luna nodded. “She couldn’t always be around but she’s such a big inspiration.”

“Is she why you wanted to be a Huntress?” Astra inquired, leaning forward with interest. She’d always been curious to know her partner’s motivations.

Luna looked thoughtful. “No, I don’t think so,” She admitted. “Being a Huntress has always felt just like…the natural thing to do, to me, at least. All of my family and all of their friends were and I’m good enough at fighting. I never really considered anything else.”

“Neat!” Astra chirped. “I guess it makes sense that you’d want to follow in your family’s footsteps.”

“What about you?” Luna asked. “Is it what you’ve always wanted?”

“Nope!” Astra replied.

Luna blinked in surprise. “Really? I always imagine you’d practically been born with a hammer in your hand.”

“Hah,” Astra chuckled. “I can see why you’d think that, but I actually wanted to be a ton of different things as a little kid.” She smiled, remembering fondly. “I think the earliest thing I wanted to be was a princess until I found out that the kingdoms weren’t actually ruled by royalty. Then I wanted to be an explorer, but apparently that doesn’t pay very well. And then there was the time I wanted to join the police force,” She wrinkled her nose. “Seven-year-old me was not immune to Atlas’ propaganda.”

“So, what changed?” Luna prompted, gazing at her with curious lilac eyes.

Astra grinned. “I started hearing stories,” She replied. “She hopped off the bed and started pacing as her memories filled her with that childlike excitement she’d felt back then. “Stories of Remnant’s newest legendary heroes; of Team RWBY, Atlas’ own Happy Huntresses, Teams CFVY and SSSN, Penny Polendina, Oscar Pine, Jaune and Ren…but my greatest hero…” She paused, her eyes shining. “The coolest, most badass woman in all of Remnant…the legendary, amazing Nora Valkyrie.” She wiggled just thinking about her, with her awesome Semblance and powerful weapon, her boundless energy and intelligence in battle, not to mention that she was a trans woman as well, adding an extra bonus to everything…

Luna grinned at her. “So, Nora’s your biggest inspiration, huh? Honestly, that checks out.”

Astra darted up to her. “She’s just so _cool!_ ” She squealed. “And even now she’s still out there kicking ass while _also_ being a mother to five kids, three of which she and Ren adopted because they were orphans once and know what it’s like…you’re so lucky you got to grow up around her.”

“It was fun, that’s for sure,” Luna admitted fondly. “She could be a bit…much for me sometimes, but having her around was never boring and she always encouraged me.”

Astra sighed wistfully. “I don’t know what I’d do if I ever met her. Faint, probably.”

“If it helps, she’d definitely love you,” Luna offered. “She _loves_ meeting people that match her in energy.”

Astra felt like she could burst into hopeful, excited tears at any moment. “Do you really think so?”

Before Luna could answer, the dorm door burst open. Astra turned to see Cobalt bounding into the room, looking uncharacteristically enthusiastic.

“What’s got you so excited?” Astra asked. “And where’s Lily?”

“She’s talking to her mother,” Cobalt responded. “But guys, the coolest thing just happened!” He looked as bouncy as Astra often was. It was…weird to see from him.

“Clearly,” Luna chuckled, leaning back. “I don’t think I’ve seen you so openly excited in years. It’s coming off you in _waves_.”

“I got a date!” Cobalt revealed, his eyes shining. “With _Storm Hunter!_ ”

Astra felt a sudden pang of uneasiness upon hearing the name.

Luna squealed in delight, not seemingly to notice Astra’s discomfort. “Cobalt, that’s so cool! You’ve been crushing on them for weeks!”

Astra shuffled her feet, not knowing how to give her warning. “Cobalt, I…”

Cobalt glanced at her inquisitively. “What’s up?”

“I just…you should be careful about this.” She tried, begging inwardly that he wouldn’t take it the wrong way.

Cobalt’s ears turned back. “What do you mean by that?” He asked, an edge to his voice that Astra didn’t like.

“It’s nothing terrible, it’s just…” Astra took a deep breath. “They’re from Atlas. We went to combat school together and they…well, they kind of hung around a lot of Atlas’…more discriminatory kind.”

Cobalt narrowed his eyes. “What, like, they bullied Faunus?”

Astra shook her head. “They never did anything themselves…not directly, anyway. But when anything _did_ happen, they kind of just…stood and watched. Even when they were right there, they never got involved, and I would sometimes catch them laughing along when their friends made rude jokes.”

She thought Cobalt looked slightly uncomfortable now, but a stubborn expression remained on his face.

“I’m sure they were just too shy to do anything,” He insisted. “Some people are like that. And even if they did agree with anything, they’ve probably learned since then. I’ve never caught them laughing at anything like that before.”

Privately, Astra didn’t think that was the case, but she didn’t like that Cobalt seemed offended and she didn’t want to push it. “Yeah, you’re right,” She looked away. “I’m sure it’s fine now.” She forced a smile. “I’d uh…be happy to help you prepare on the night.”

Cobalt seemed to relax, to Astra’s relief. “Yeah,” he replied. “I’d appreciate that.”

“So, uh…when’s the date?” Luna asked, helping to ease the tension.

Cobalt turned his attention to her. “Friday night,” He replied. “We’ll be meeting at the school gates.”

As Cobalt and Luna discussed, Astra only half-listened, worry pricking at her gut. She didn’t want to force Cobalt to call anything off when the problem might not exist either, but she didn’t want to have to see him with a broken heart either.

She didn’t understand much about romance; she’d never even had a crush before and had no idea what it would feel like if she did. But she knew one thing for sure- a relationship wasn’t going to be healthy if one party discriminated against the other. She begged, for Cobalt’s sake, that Storm really had changed. If they hadn’t and ended up doing wrong by Cobalt, she’d beat them into the ground.


	15. Payback

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lily contemplates what she lacks in a fight, but at least gets to enjoy a match.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> whoo, snuck another one in before another class tomorrow! i'm HOPING uni stuff will slow down a bit soon so i can get some more chapters done. we'll see! anyway this one was very fun to write and i hope you guys like it :)

Lily focused.

As June Celadon dove at her with two lightning-dust-charged batons, she dodged, firing a few shots from Evening Jade in the other girl’s direction as she did. One bullet hit, but June barely staggered and recovered quickly. She threw one baton straight at Lily with perfect accuracy- her Semblance, Lily had figured- and it slammed straight into her stomach, sending electric shocks through her body.

She dropped both of her guns and fell to the ground, both from pain and the shock of the hit, feeling her Aura flicker. _Shit,_ she swore inwardly. She was done for.

June ran in her direction to finish her off, but as her feet hit the ground, the tip of a shoe hit the ground too hard and she staggered.

Lily took her chance. Swiping up one of Evening Jade, she thrust one of her legs outward into June’s ankle, tripping her further. With the girl fully unbalanced, Lily slammed into her, sending her to the ground, and shattered the other girl’s Aura with a couple of shots.

“The match goes to Lily Sustrai!” Coco’s voice rang out over the arena as claps and cheers rose from the crowd.

Lily reached out a hand to help June up. “Good game,” She offered. “You’ve got some great moves.”

June took it. “Thanks,” She panted, standing. “You too.”

As the cheering faded, Lily picked up her second gun and headed over the greet her team at the bleachers, unable to feel satisfied with her victory.

“You did really great!” Cobalt praised. Lily could tell he was being genuine, but she couldn’t find herself sharing the sentiment.

She sat down with a sigh, tucking both of Evening Jade into their holsters.

“I got lucky,” She pointed out. “If June hadn’t tripped, she’d have taken me out in one more blow.”

“Aw hey, you still did good!” Astra chirped. “Especially considering you still don’t have a­-” She broke herself off at a sharp look from Cobalt. “Sorry.”

“That’s exactly the problem though,” Lily sunk into her seat. “It’s June’s Semblance that let her get the upper hand on me. If I had my own, I could’ve beaten her without having to resort to waiting for her to stumble.”

Luna looked thoughtful. “I think you should talk to Jaune at some point,” She said. “He might be able to help.”

Lily glanced at her quizzically. “Because he teaches Aura?”

“Partially,” Luna replied. “But there’s something else, too.” She grinned. “Plus, he’s always full of great advice anyway.”

“We’ve got time for one more fight today,” Coco announced from the side of the arena. “Any volunteers?”

Astra’s eyes glowed and she leaped to her feet. “I’ll go!” She volunteered eagerly.

Coco didn’t seem surprised. “And who do you pick for your opponent?”

Lily blinked in surprise and sat up straighter; Coco didn’t usually let students pick who to fight themselves.

A wicked grin spread across Astra’s freckled face. “Birch Aster.”

 _There_ it was. Lily smiled as she settled into her seat. This would be fun.

The slightest hint of satisfaction crossed Coco’s face. “Very well. Astra, Birch, please enter the stadium.”

“Give him hell for us.” Luna encouraged as Astra sprung from her seat.

Astra turned and winked at her. “Of course,” She leaped down into the arena. Lily wondered if she knew how flirty she’d just been, or if she’d noticed the blush spread across Luna’s face.

As Birch entered the other side of the stadium, his face twisted into a sneer.

“You won’t get away as easily as you did last time.” He growled.

Astra smiled with false sweetness. “I wouldn’t bet on that.”

“Take your positions,” Coco instructed.

Astra swung Light of the Party out to its full length, brandishing it with both hands and slamming the smiley-faced button that activated mace-like spikes on either side of the hammer. Across from her, Birch swung out his huge broadsword. An unoriginal weapon for an unoriginal guy, Lily thought.

“Begin!”

The moment Coco spoke, Birch slammed his foot into the ground to send a shockwave through the arena, predictably, given that Astra slipped out of the way before it even reached her. As she came down, she slammed Light of the Party into the concrete floor of the arena, creating a small crater of uneven terrain.

Frustration crossing his face, Birch turned to face her and sent out another shockwave, which she gracefully dodged again. Lily found her movements interesting to watch; her flips and twists were so refined, and yet she swung her weapon around with brute force. It also pleased her to see that she’d taken Jaune’s lesson to heart and now seemed to be reversing it onto Birch.

As she dodged another wave, Astra smirked at Birch as she managed to balance on her hammer.

“Careful, now,” She teased slyly. “Wouldn’t want to use up all of your Aura.”

Lily leaned forward in curiosity. Why was she warning him?

Letting out a growl, Birch finally seemed to remember that he had a weapon he could use. Clutching his sword, he charged at Astra, who grinned deeply. She dashed out of his reach, slamming her hammer into the same crater from before and making it even deeper. Lily got an idea of what she was doing and smiled. Astra was certainly smarter than she’d given her credit for at the start of the semester.

“Come on, bitch boy!” Astra taunted as she bounced around the arena.

“Language, Miss Katt.” Coco reprimanded from where she leaned against the wall at the edge of the arena, clearly enjoying the entertainment.

“Sorry!”

Astra was practically dancing around Birch now, looking far more spirited than he did. Clearly, she was greatly enjoying her revenge.

The ginger-haired girl planted herself right on the edge of her crater, opposite from where Birch stood. His face was contorted in anger and he was panting heavily.

“You’re not as tough as you think!” He growled.

Astra leaned casually against Light of the Party. “Tougher than you, at least.”

With a roar, Birch lifted his sword and charged blindly at her. At the last minute, Astra flipped away, leaving Birch to stumble into the crater and crash to the ground, his sword falling from his grip. As he attempted to get a hold on the broken, cracked concrete, Astra twirled Light of the Party. Just as Birch seemed to realize what was about to happen, Astra launched herself into the air, bringing the spiked hammer right down onto Birch, effectively shattering what little Aura he had left.

“The match goes to Astra!” Coco announced, seemingly struggling to hide her pleasure.

The cheer that rose from the crowd was twice as loud as it had been for Lily and she didn’t even mind, raising her voice alongside the rest of the students. The only silence came from the rest of Team SRBY; Storm and Yarrow watched passively while Rowan simply sulked, her face red from what Lily assumed was anger and embarrassment.

“Fuck yeah!” Astra lifted Light of the Party into the air, her face flushed with pure triumph. “Take that, you overgrown peanut!”

“ _Astra_.” Coco reminded her again, though Lily could hear a laugh in her voice.

“Sorry again!” Astra apologized. “But that was _totally_ worth it.”

As Coco called the class to a close and Astra re-joined her team in celebration, the vice-headmistress headed over to them, pride clear on her face.

“Never let it be said that I don’t keep my word.” She chuckled lightly.

Astra bounded, still clearly full of energy. “That was _great!_ ” She exclaimed, “You have _no idea_ how much I was hoping to do that.”

“Thanks for giving her the chance to get back at him properly,” Lily added to Coco. “I know it’s not exactly honorable, but…”

Coco shrugged, smiling. “I may have to act as the responsible adult now, but I’ll never get sick of seeing bigots get what they deserve if the situation is right.” She tilted her glasses down to peer over them. “Just don’t let anyone know I made an exception for you lot.”

Cobalt grinned. “Now, why would anyone ever assume you’d make exceptions for the team _I’m_ on?”

“Fair point,” Coco shook her head light-heartedly. “You’re getting as sassy as your mother these days, you know.” She ruffled his hair. “Well, I’d better let you kids go and take a break. I need to go and get Glynda to come and fix…” She glanced at Astra’s crater. “…That.”

“Ah,” Astra looked sheepish. “Sorry about that.”

“Don’t worry too much about it,” Coco grinned. “I did way worse back in my school days.”

As Coco headed to inspect the torn-up concrete, Lily followed her team out of the building, her mind drifting to Astra’s fight. It seemed notable to her that Astra hadn’t used her Semblance at all, and she wondered if she’d done it on purpose to make her feel better about not having one.

All the same, she was set on unlocking it within the year. She’d take Luna’s advice and talk to Jaune, though she wasn’t sure what he’d be able to offer. But she wasn’t content on going without it, even if it wasn’t totally necessary in a fight. A person’s Semblance was part of their individuality and she _would_ find hers.


	16. Sunset Date

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cobalt heads out on his date, but things don't go as planned.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sigh i have to start adding numbers into the chapter titles now bc the trvia chapter fucked everything up
> 
> also this is finally another long one! and it might have been longer had i not decided to leave stuff til next chapter. enjoy!

“Hold still, you’re going to ruin it!” Luna scolded.

Cobalt tried his best to stay stiff among his ever-growing excitement. “Sorry!” He apologized. “Sorry, I’m just… _really_ excited.” He was set to go and meet Storm soon and he could barely contain his enthusiasm and nervousness. What if it went badly? What if it went _really well_ , and then he’d have to prepare himself for a committed romantic relationship?

Luna ran the comb through the front of Cobalt’s hair and laughed. “I can tell,” She replied. “I haven’t _felt_ you this excited before, let alone seen it.”

“Can you blame me?” Cobalt tried not to wiggle. “My first date since I was thirteen and it’s with the coolest person at Beacon.” His ears drooped slightly. “I just…really hope I don’t screw things up.”

Luna switched to a smaller comb for between his ears and ran it through his hair with the same gentleness as when they were kids. “You’ll be fine,” She assured him. “They already like you back and they’d be dumb not to.”

Cobalt smiled. “Thanks, Lune.” He could always count on her to calm his nerves.

“Besides,” Luna grinned. “If almost decking them in the face wasn’t enough to turn them off you, I don’t think anything will.”

Cobalt blushed and wanted to bury his face in his hands. “Please don’t remind me…”

The dorm’s bathroom door flung open as Astra burst in, a makeup bag in her arms.

“Hold up!” She announced. “Nothing else is happening until I can get his makeup done.”

Luna turned to face her, hands on her hips. “I’m in the middle of doing his hair,” She protested. “Besides, does he really need makeup?”

Astra dumped her bag beside this sink. “Not _much_ ,” She responded. “Just enough to make him look nice.”

Cobalt frowned at her in protest. “Hey, I look nice!”

“Of course you do!” Astra amended. “But you’ll look even _better_ with a little concealer and some eyeliner.”

“Nope, no way,” Luna shook her head. “He _never_ looked good in eyeliner when I’d apply it to him.”

Cobalt wanted to protest, but he knew she was right.

Astra pulled black eyeliner out of the bag with a flourish. “Well, you’ve never applied it like I do, then, because once I’m done here, Cobalt’s gonna look stunning.”

Cobalt peered at her closely. “Do you even _wear_ makeup?” It certainly didn’t look like it, from what he could tell.

Astra pulled the lid off the eyeliner. “I do, on special occasions. And I’m _great_ at it,” She leaned forward with the pen. “Now, stay still, unless you want ink in your eye.”

Cobalt tried not to blink as Astra applied the makeup to his eyes. “I hope you’re sure about this.” Behind him, Luna stubbornly kept combing.

Astra’s eyes were narrowed as she focused. “Trust me, my mom and her team are practically makeup experts. My Uncle Ivori’s been showing me what to do from the moment I could hold a brush.”

Cobalt wished he could remember what any of Team FNKI really looked like and failed to. He’d just have to trust his teammate, it seemed.

Grabbing a soft brush, Luna began to run it up his ears. It felt nice, though Cobalt was glad Astra hadn’t jumped to do it. Outside of his family, Luna was the only person allowed to touch his ears; it was a deeply personal sentiment for him.

After his hair was brushed back and Astra had finished her makeup work, the girls finally let him free. Standing up from the chair he’d been seated in, he turned to look in the mirror.

“Woah,” Cobalt stared at himself. Astra wasn’t kidding; she’d done amazingly with the eyeliner. “You guys did great.”

Astra looked smug. “See?” She poked her tongue out at Luna.

Luna grinned. “Yeah, okay, you win. You’re better at it than I am.”

“Don’t worry,” Astra assured her. “I’ll do your makeup whenever you need it.”

Luna blushed heavily. “Uh-I-I’ll let you know. If you ever need to.” She managed. Cobalt tried not to laugh at her.

Astra turned to Cobalt, oblivious to Luna’s embarrassment. “Alrighty, well, you need to get going!”

Cobalt’s excitement and anxiety flared back up. “Oh Gods, do you guys really think I’m ready?”

“Yes!” Luna encouraged. “Go on, get out there!” She and Astra ushered him out of the bathroom. Cobalt didn’t bother telling Luna that he’d meant if he was ready _mentally_.

Lily lay on her bed and looked up at Cobalt as he entered the main room, Astra and Luna behind him.

“Hey, you look great!” She praised. “Those two did a great job on you.”

Cobalt grinned. “They really did.”

Lily sat up. “Are you nervous?”

“Extremely.” Cobalt sighed.

Lily jumped off the bed and headed over to one of the several potted plants she had deposited around her bed, picking a white flower off one.

“Here,” She handed it to him. “Give them this.”

“No time for chitchat!” Astra interrupted before Cobalt could thank Lily. “You need to get going!” She shoved him into the hallway.

“Have fun!” Luna called after him. Astra closed the door, leaving Cobalt alone in the hallway.

Cobalt took a deep breath and tried to calm his nerves.

“Oh hey, there you are!”

Cobalt jumped and turned to see Storm walking towards him. Horror shot through his body.

“Oh Gods, am I late?” He fretted. “I’m so sorry, I must have lost track of-”

Storm cut him off with a chuckle. “You’re not late, don’t worry,” They assured him. “I just got bored and thought I’d come get you myself.” Their gaze swept over him. “Wow, you look…really nice.”

Cobalt blushed. “Ah, thanks,” He replied, squealing on the inside. “My teammates helped me get ready.” He gazed at Storm; they’d tied their silver hair back into a high ponytail and was wearing a neat black suit. “You look amazing too. Oh!” He added, remembering the flower. “Here.”

A blush not unlike Cobalt’s own swept across Storm’s face as they gently took the flower from Cobalt’s outstretched hand. “Thanks,” They looked uncharacteristically awkward; it was adorable. “Do you uh…wanna get going?”

“Right, of course!” Cobalt nodded, falling into step beside Storm as they began walking up the hallway.

“So, uh…” Storm gazed up at Cobalt, standing a couple of inches shorter than him. “Have you ever been on a date before?”

“Yeah, once,” Cobalt admitted. “It was years ago, though, back in combat school.”

“I’ve never dated a guy before,” Storm admitted. “Just a couple of girls, but they weren’t very serious.”

 _Is this serious?_ Cobalt wondered inwardly. Part of him hoped it was.

As the pair walked through the school, they continued to chat casually, and Cobalt felt himself easing up. Storm was as kind as they’d always been; they must have changed from their days in Atlas. Either that or Astra had perhaps just overreacted, as she often did. He was sure she’d never say anything against Storm just to be mean, but she was wrong in this case.

Their chat continued as they took a Bullhead into the city, talking about their taste in music and what their first dates had been like. The whole time, Storm gazed at Cobalt as if he was the only person on their world, and their laugh sent an intense joy into his heart.

“So, where are you taking me?” Cobalt asked as they stepped off the Bullhead and headed into the still-bustling city.

“It’s a surprise.” Storm replied, winking.

Cobalt’s curiosity grew. “Come on, just tell me!” He begged. “Is it at least close?”

Storm laughed. “It’s close, don’t worry. But I’m not telling you anything else; you’ll see soon enough.”

Cobalt pouted jokingly. “Okay, but it had better be worth it.” He chuckled.

Storm grabbed his hand. “It’ll be great, trust me.”

Cobalt stared at the hand clasped around his, his heart skipping a beat as he closed his fingers around Storm’s and let them lead him through the city, rounding a few corners until the reached a two-story building away from the bustling crowds of people heading out for the weekend.

Storm pulled Cobalt over to a staircase than ran up the side of the building.

Cobalt blinked at the staircase. “We’re going up there?” He enquired. “Are we…allowed to?”

Storm smiled. “Don’t worry, this store closed down ages ago,” They explained. “I found this place a week after moving to Vale.”

Trusting them, Cobalt let them lead him up the staircase, then up a second set until they reached the roof of the building.

The setting sun shone brightly in Cobalt’s face as he stepped onto the roof and he shielded his eyes for a moment, before removing his arm again as his eyes adjusted. From up here, he could see almost the entire span of the city as the setting sun cast the buildings in shadow.

“Wow…”

“It’s beautiful, right?” Storm asked, standing beside him eagerly.

“It is,” Cobalt agreed. He smiled softly at Storm. “I’m glad you found it.”

Squeezing his hand, Storm pulled him closer to the other side of the building and sat down, patting the space beside them. Cobalt sat, feeling a warmth that didn’t just come from the sun.

For a moment, they sat in blissful silence. From up here, the traffic and noise of people seemed distant, and Cobalt could enjoy the moment in peace.

“I really am sorry about Rowan and Birch,” Storm said softly after a while.

Cobalt turned to look at them. “You don’t have to keep apologizing; it wasn’t your fault.” He assured them.

Storm sighed. “I know, but I still feel bad. I’m just glad Coco made them clean up the cafeteria afterwards.”

Cobalt huffed. It was good to know they’d been properly punished, but it still didn’t feel like enough. “Kind of wish they’d been suspended if I’m being honest.” It would stop them from continuing to bother the team, for a while at least.

“That’s a bit extreme, don’t you think?”

Cobalt felt a cold prick in his gut. “…What do you mean by that?”

Storm shrugged. “I mean, they’re jerks, but you don’t really think they deserve suspension, do you?”

Cobalt slipped his hand from theirs and moved away slightly, staring at them as the cold prick grew heavier. “You know what they were _saying_ , right? They called faunus freaks. You know that, right?” _Please tell me you just didn’t know…_

Storm shifted, looking uncomfortable. “That’s just their opinion, though.”

Cobalt narrowed his eyes and stood up. “What are you _talking_ about?” The prick was a cold weight now, settling in his belly. “Storm, they were _racist_.”

Storm scrambled to their feet. “Don’t mistake me, I don’t think they were right or anything, I just think it’s up to them what they say, that’s all.” He rubbed his neck. “And you guys weren’t really nice to them, either.”

Cobalt stepped back, despair and anger growing in his veins. _This can’t be happening…_

“Do you really think that’s even comparable?” He snapped.

Storm tried to look nonchalant. “I just think things wouldn’t have gotten so bad if faunus didn’t keep reacting to things the way they do…”

The anger grew to a cold fury. “Are you _kidding me??_ ” His ears turned back. “Do you have _any idea_ what kind of hell the humans put us through?”

Storm stepped towards him, their eyes pleading. “Come on, don’t be like this-”

“Like _what?_ ” Cobalt seethed. “You mean, I shouldn’t defend myself?”

Storm’s eyes widened. “No, no, I don’t mean you! I just mean-”

“You just mean all the _other_ faunus are the ones in the wrong?” Cobalt couldn’t believe what he was hearing. He wanted to pinch himself in the hope that this was all a dream, hoping to wake up in his bed.

“Cobalt please, I really like you…” Storm’s face was flushed with panic and confusion.

Cobalt felt as if his own dagger was being pushed through his heart. As Storm reached towards him, he flinched away. “Well, I’m having a damn hard time liking you right now.” He snapped, the words killing him to say. “How can you say you ‘really like me’ when you stand against who I am?”

Storm looked away, rubbing their arm. “I…”

Cobalt bared his teeth. “Forget this,” He spat. “I should have listened to Astra when she warned me what you were like in Atlas. You’re the same as any stuck-up rich kid.” He felt like crying. “You don’t know _anything_ about faunus or what we’ve been through.” He turned away, his heart aching. “Do me a favour and don’t ever talk to me again.”

He strode back over to the staircase, refusing to look back. Storm made no attempt to stop him.

As he climbed back down the staircase, his face and ears burned with shame and anger. He’d been stupid. Astra had tried to warn him, and he’d ignored her, in the naïve hope that nobody he crushed on could ever be like that. Every part of his body hurt.

It was only when he’d made his way back the ground to walk back to Beacon alone that he let the tears fall.


	17. Consolation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After a talk, the team find themselves needed to comfort a friend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TWO IN ONE NIGHT??? YOU FUCKING BET!! please remember to read chapter 16 if you haven't yet!!
> 
> anyway enjoy

“So, how many plants do you have now?” Luna asked, peering at the array of plants around Lily and Cobalt’s bunk. There was a large fern between the desk and the bed, a few flowering shrubs along the foot of the bed, and some potted ivy hung on the wall underneath the top bed. Lily had brought in an actual lily plant once but had removed it after finding out that Luna was allergic.

“This isn’t actually that many,” Lily replied from where she lay on the bed. “I’ve got a bunch more at home. My mom’s looking after them.” She gazed sadly at the fern. “I think this one needs to go soon though,” She climbed off the bed and crouched beside the plant, running her hands over the yellowing fronds. “It’s not getting the sunlight it needs in here.”

Luna frowned. “That’s a shame,” She replied. “It’s really pretty.”

Astra looked down at Lily from where she was perched on her bed. “You seem awfully sad about a plant.” She commented.

Lily gave a half-smile. “I know it’s just a plant, but I like taking care of them. It kind of gives me…a sense of purpose, I guess.” She sighed softly. “I always feel like I’ve failed them when they start dying.”

“Oh,” Astra responded. “Well, now I kind of feel bad.” She rested her chin on the wooden railing of the bed. “Poor little plant.”

Lily sat back on the bed. “I’ll give it a few more days, see how it goes. It might still pull through.”

Luna hoped it would. Not because she felt any attachment to the plant in the same way Lily did, but because she had grown to quite dislike seeing her teammates upset.

“Is that what you named yourself for?” Astra asked suddenly.

Luna glanced up at her, momentarily confused.

“It is, actually,” Lily replied. “They were my favourite flower around that time.”

Oh, right. It had never even crossed Luna’s mind that the two girls would have picked their own names.

“It was a good choice,” Astra complimented. “It’s really pretty.”

Lily smiled. “Thanks,” She replied. “What about you? If that’s okay to ask.” She added quickly. “It’s okay if you don’t want to say anything.”

Astra chuckled. “Nah, you’re good.” She sat up, almost hitting her head on the roof. “Astra was my princess name as a kid,” She explained. “I already used it for myself before I knew, so when I realized, it just felt right.”

Luna didn’t know how to compliment her without coming off as patronizing. “It suits you,” She settled for, “It’s really bright and pretty.”

“Aaaww!” Astra grinned. “You think I’m pretty, Luna?”

_SHIT, SHIT, SHIT, SHIT, SHIT._

She had not meant to come across that blatantly. Her minds raced as she searched for a response, not helped by Lily smirking at her in amusement.

“W-well, yeah,” She managed. “I think lots of people are pretty.” Unseen to Astra, she slammed her head into her pillow. _Stupid!_ She cursed herself. She could practically _feel_ Lily’s amused grin. Actually, she _could_ feel Lily’s amusement, along with a wave of pity and exasperation that practically screamed ‘when are these two hopeless lesbians going to figure things out’. Luna wished she knew the answer to that.

Upon hearing the dorm door open, she felt a rush of gratitude towards whoever had saved her from this embarrassment, but when she peered around the bedpost to see who it was and saw a tear-stained Cobalt standing in the doorway, the feeling vanished.

“Cobalt!” She gasped. She threw herself off the bed and rushed up to him as he stood, his face red and washed in pain. “What happened?”

Cobalt just shook his head, tears still flooding down his face.

Luna wrapped her arm around him. “Hey, come on.” She led him to her bed and sat down with him, letting him lean against her. She rubbed his back as Astra leaped down from the bed and Lily came over to sit on Cobalt’s other side.

“Astra was right,” Cobalt sobbed at last. “They’re exactly like she said they were.”

Astra narrowed her eyes. “What did they do to you?” She growled.

Cobalt sniffed and wiped his eyes with the sleeve of his suit. “They seemed so nice and then…then they brought up what happened again,” More tears gathered in the corners of his eyes and Luna could feel his intense sorrow, mixed with frustration. “They took the middle ground; said that they didn’t deserve suspension when I suggested it.” He bared his teeth, anger flashing over his face. “They implied that faunus were to blame for everything that’s happened to us.”

Sympathy and anger battled in Luna’s gut. “Oh, Co…” She wrapped her arms around him as he wept against her, shaking slightly. “I’m so sorry.”

Fury was coming off Astra in waves. “I wanted so badly to believe they’d changed,” She sighed.

“I should have listened to you,” Cobalt replied, his voice breaking. “You tried to warn me, and I wouldn’t listen.”

Astra knelt to the ground in front of him, grabbing one of his hands. “Hey,” She insisted. “It’s not your fault. They _should_ have changed. It’s not on you that they didn’t.”

“She’s right,” Lily added, her hand on Cobalt’s shoulder. “You can’t blame yourself for someone else being an ass.”

“But I should have seen it coming!” Cobalt protested.

“No, you shouldn't have,” Astra replied fiercely. “You’re a sweet guy; it’s not your fault that you want to see the best in people. They’re the one who broke your trust.”

Cobalt didn’t respond, only closing his eyes and swallowing.

“I can beat them up for you,” Astra said, in complete seriousness. “Do you need me to do that?”

Cobalt shook his head. “It won’t fix anything.”

It broke Luna’s heart to see him in such despair when he’d always been the one she’d leaned on for support. She wrapped her tail around his arm, the same gesture she often used to comfort herself.

“I’ll tell you what,” She told him softly. “We’re going to make a nice, home-cooked meal and stay up in our pyjamas to do whatever you want, like a little slumber party. Does that sound okay?”

Cobalt sniffed again. “That…does sound nice.” He admitted.

Luna smiled. “Great,” She replied. “Let’s get started on that then, huh?”

Lily stood up. “I can cook something,” She offered. “My mom and I used to cook together all the time. I can get stuff from the cafeteria if I need to.”

Astra bounced to her feet. “I can find a board game for us to play!” She announced. “Or cards if you prefer. I’ve got a whole bunch.”

Cobalt didn’t look at her, his gaze fixed numbly on the floor. “You can pick.”

Luna wrapped him in a tight hug, wishing she could see her best friend smile again. “Hey, we’re gonna cheer you up,” She promised. “You deserve to be happy.”

Cobalt leaned into her again, sighing. “Thanks, Lune.”

“Come on, now,” Luna stood up. “Your eyeliner’s running. Let’s go get you cleaned up while these two do their thing.”

Nodding shakily, Cobalt followed her into the bathroom as Astra began to sift through the games she had in a shelf and Astra began to look through the kitchen cupboards. Soaking a handtowel with warm water, Luna began to dab at his face, wiping away the mix of tears and eyeliner that coated his cheeks.

“It’s been a while since you’ve had to do this, huh?” Cobalt said at last, his voice still sounding strained.

“Hm,” Luna gave him a soft smile. “Not since your last heartbreak.” She could still vividly remember how torn up Cobalt had been when his boyfriend in combat school had ditched him for another boy, how he’d cried to her and she’d done her best to comfort him without really knowing how.

Cobalt sighed. “I just…I was really starting to think this time would be different.” He stared at the floor. “They were so sweet, and they seemed so happy to be there with me.” His eyes narrowed. “And then they went and dropped _that_ on me. It’s not fair.”

Luna wiped his eyes with the cloth, as gently as she could. “I know it’s not,” She replied softly. “You didn’t deserve it. They don’t know what they’re missing.” She rinsed the cloth and gave him a dry towel to dry his face with. “But hey,” She added with a smile. “You’ve still got us.”

Finally, Cobalt gave her a small smile. “I know I do. And I’m grateful.”

Luna placed a hand on his shoulder, happy to see him starting to perk up. “Now, come on,” She encouraged. “Let’s go and have some fun.”

The two of them headed back into the main room, greeted by Astra, who announced she’d selected three different games for them to play. In the kitchen, Liily was already slicing potatoes and had pulled out some frozen chicken. Luna felt a rush of love for them. Just a little over a month ago, she’d been worried about spending time with them, especially Astra. But now, now they truly felt like her friends. More importantly, they were Cobalt’s friends too. And they were all going to make sure he forgot about that two-faced asshole.


	18. Making Progress

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After a couple of very different library chats, Lily has her talk with Jaune.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey guys i almost wasn't sure i'd get this done today because i was up for a whole 20+ hours between yesterday and this morning and i am running on very little sleep. but it's here! so enjoy!

“So, definitely the 15th then?” Lily asked, blinking at her mother’s face on the screen.

Emerald nodded. “Ruby and Weiss are visiting their wife in Atlas once term holidays start and won’t be back until two days before then,” She explained, her voice ever-so-slightly distorted by the signal. “The team and I have agreed that the 15th is the best time to meet.” She sighed. “I can’t say I’m too enthusiastic about talking to them again after all these years. But I think it could be good to finally clear things up.”

“It will be,” Lily promised, though she wasn’t entirely sure of it herself. “Once you guys have talked, I think things are going to get a lot better.”

Emerald smiled softly. “I can tell they already have for you, at least.”

Lily felt a warm glow as she thought of her friends. “Coming here was good for me for more than just the reason I wanted to,” She admitted. “I still don’t have everything sorted out, but…I think I’m going to be okay.” _That_ much, she was sure of. She had friends here-real, actual friends. None of her teachers looked down on her or blamed her for anything from the past. And sure, there were a couple of bad things, but they couldn’t outweigh the good now, not as long as she had her team to support her.

“I’m so glad you’re doing so well,” Emerald replied, her eyes warm. “I’m so proud of you, my little flower.”

Lily wanted to reach through the screen and hug her. “Things will be okay for you too,” She assured her. “I know they will.”

“It’s enough for me that you’re happy,” Emerald told her gently. “It’s good to see you smiling so much.”

Lily knew it would take more than one conversation to make her mother see her own worth, but she knew it would be pointless to try now. With any luck, meeting with Team RWBY would help with that.

“I should go,” She settled. “I’ve got some stuff to do.” It had been a little over a week since Luna had suggested she talk to Jaune about her Semblance- or lack thereof- but she’d continuously forgotten until that morning when Luna had reminded her.

“Have fun,” Emerald replied warmly. “I’ll see you when the holidays start.”

Lily smiled. “Right. Love you, mom.”

“I love you too, Lily,” Emerald responded softly. “Have fun with the rest of the term.” She smiled before the screen turned blank and she was gone.

Lily leaned back in her chair for a moment. Ending conversations with her mother always left her feeling sentimental, but there was an undercurrent of hope too. The holidays were in just a few weeks, shortly after Beacon’s end-of-term dance. Being able to spend time with her mother again, as well as the fact they might just finally sort things out in their life, left her feeling uplifted. She could do this. She _would_ do this.

Pushing the chair back with her feet, she stood up, wanting to go and find Jaune as soon as she could. As she turned to leave the library though, she spotted someone familiar sitting at a desk, someone she was not at all pleased to see. Storm Hunter had their face buried in a book, unaware of Lily’s presence.

Baring her teeth, Lily prepared to walk over and give them a piece of her mind, but she stopped when she noticed the small pile of books on the table. Two on Remnant world history and one on Faunus rights, as well as Blake Belladonna’s autobiography. Curiosity shot through her. What was Storm doing with books like that?

She strode up to them, her curiosity overtaking her desire to pound them into the ground.

“You studying for a test or something?” She asked bluntly.

Storm jumped at her voice; they’d seemingly been deep into the book. As they lifted their head, alarm filled their hazel eyes upon recognizing her.

“I-uh…” They looked like they were about to start sweating. “…Are you going to hurt me?”

Lily crossed her arms, glaring down at them. “I’m seriously considering it.”

Storm looked away. “Yeah, well, I would blame you if you did, honestly.”

Lily lifted an eyebrow. Was this some kind of pity play?

“Look, about Cobalt…” Storm continued. “I don’t know how to say it without sounding insincere, but I feel...horrible about what happened.”

“About breaking his heart, you mean?” Lily pressed, her eyes narrowed. “And implying that faunus are responsible for what they’ve been through?”

Storm shifted and stared at their hands, which were rested on the book. “Exactly that, actually.” They stared at the open pages. “I…I don’t know how much Cobalt told you about what happened, but he told me I didn’t know anything about the faunus and he was right.” They ran their fingers through the pages awkwardly, still not meeting Lily’s eyes. “So, I…thought I’d start learning.”

Lily gazed at the pages; she could see that the book they were reading now was detailing this history of faunus movements. “You’re…actually serious about this.” She realized, looking again at the pile of books.

Storm sighed, their face washed with guilt and shame. “I never realized how much I was hurting faunus, even without actively doing anything against them,” They admitted. “I just…hurting Cobalt is the last thing I wanted. He’s really sweet.” They played with their fingers again. “I like him a lot.”

Lily narrowed her eyes again. “So, this is just to get him back, then?”

Storm looked up sharply. “No!” They replied quickly. “I mean…it would be really nice, but that’s not why I’m doing this, I promise. I want to make up for the kind of person I’ve been to all faunus, not just Cobalt.” Their gaze fell again. “I want to be a better person than I’ve been.”

Against her better judgment, Lily couldn’t help but feel slightly sorry for them. Only slightly. “If you’re really serious about this, here’s some free advice,” She offered. “Talk to Professor Amitola. These” She gestured at the books, “Are useful, but the history books aren’t always accurate. You should hear about it from someone who played a bigger role in the recent stuff.”

Storm nodded, looking thoughtful. “That’s actually really helpful.” They replied. “Thank you.”

Lily shrugged. “Sure,” She leaned closer to Storm, looking them in the eye, “But if this ends up being purely in self-interest, I _will_ pummel you into the ground.” She threatened, meaning every word.

Storm shrank back into their chair. “Right. You got it.”

With that, Lily turned and left the library, hoping that Storm really was trying to better themselves. It would be totally understandable if Cobalt still wouldn’t date them, but it would at least lift his mood to know he’d initiated change in someone. And consider how downcast Cobalt had been for the past week, it would be good to see. It gave Lily the same feeling to see her partner upset than it did when her mother was, a hollow feeling in her stomach and a desire for justice.

She pushed the thoughts aside. She could deal with all of that later, but for now, it was about time she got this talk with Jaune out of the way.

She made her way to his office, pushing open the door and knocking gently on the wall.

“Uh…Professor Arc? Are you busy?”

Jaune looked up from the papers he’d been going through. “Hm? No, you’re fine.” He pushed the papers away. “Please, come in.”

Lily walked into the room, tentatively taking a seat in front of Jaune’s desk.

Jaune rested his hands on the desk. “So, what brings you here? Did you just want to chat?”

Lily rubbed her arm. “No, actually…I’ve been worried about the fact I still haven’t unlocked my Semblance yet,” She admitted to him. “Luna told me to come and talk to you.”

A look of realization seemed to flicker in Jaune’s eyes. “Ah, I see. You’re worried you’re late, huh?”

Lily sighed. “I just…I feel like I should have unlocked it by now.” She stared at the ground, letting her frustration spill out. “I don’t know a single person my age who hasn’t unlocked theirs…how am I supposed to make it as a Huntress without one?”

Jaune chuckled. “I feel like you kids are always coming to me with familiar situations.”

Lily looked up at him curiously. “What do you mean?”

Jaune smiled knowingly. “I felt the exact same way when I was attending Beacon.”

Lily sat up, her interest piquing and the realization dawned on her. “You…hadn’t unlocked your Semblance either?”

Jaune nodded. “Not at your age, no. In fact, I didn’t unlock it until long after Beacon fell, during the battle for Haven.”

Lily knew it was supposed to make her feel better, but it only made her heart sink further. “Does that mean I might not unlock mine for another year or more?”

Jaune stood up from his desk and walked over to one side of his room, looking at a wall filled with framed photos. Lily recognized younger versions of RWBY and JNPR, as well as a few family photos from the teams with their children.

“The thing about Semblances is, Lily,” Jaune explained. “Is that they can be unpredictable. Different people unlock them in different ways. Some people are born with theirs, like Luna. Some pick it up along the way, and some never unlock it at all.”

Lily’s heart clenched. She prayed she wouldn’t be one of the latter.

“And sometimes,” Jaune continued. “It takes a time of need for a Semblance to unlock.”

Lily leaned forward. “What kind of need?”

“Well, take my teammates, for example.” Jaune gazed fondly at a photo of Lie Ren and Nora Valkyrie. “Nora unlocked hers at a time where she might have died if she hadn’t, and Ren unlocked his to protect her at a different time. However,” He added, moving to a photo of someone it took Lily a moment to recognize. “The need doesn’t always have to be so dire. Pyrrha unlocked hers after she dropped her scroll down a sewage drain.” He smiled, fondness and sorrow mixed in his gaze.

“So…what you’re saying is that I could unlock it at literally any time, then.” Lily concluded, not exactly feeling better.

Jaune chuckled. “Well, yes,” He replied. “But there are some things that can help it along, and training is one of them.”

“I’m already doing that,” Lily pointed out. “Isn’t that, like…the point of the school?”

“I don’t mean as part of school lessons.” Jaune amended. “I mean extra training, with me.”

Lily sat up straighter, blinking in surprise. “Wait really?”

Jaune nodded. “If you want. I’m happy to help you after hours.”

Lily was dumbfounded. “That…sounds really cool,” She admitted. “I’d like that.”

“Well,” Jaune checked his wristwatch. “As it so happens, I’ve got some free time now.” He grinned at her. “If you’re up for it, how would you like to start today?”

Lily grinned, excitement rising in her chest. “Let’s do it.”


	19. Amendments

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cobalt opens up to his mother and makes a decision.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> helloooooo we're REAL CLOSE to the chapters i'm super excited for you guys to see but i'm not sure how long they're going to take! i've been having trouble sleeping lately, so i'm not sure if i'll get them out before next week, but i will try! if not, next week is a break from uni, so probably then.
> 
> enjoy the chapter!

Cobalt lay on his bed and stared up at the roof. There was a tiny crack next to the wall, thin enough that it could have been drawn with a pencil. He imagined actually turning it into an illustration, but he had a feeling drawing on school property wasn’t allowed.

The rest of his team were out at lunch, but he’d not felt like it. For the past few weeks, he’d stayed mostly in the dorm outside of classes, lacking the energy or motivation to do anything else. He was so scared of running into Storm every time he left the dorm and having to chare classes with them was a nightmare. They wouldn’t even look at him.

The others had done their best to help him and he’d been grateful for it. Sometimes, they were enough to get him to forget for a little while, but he always remembered again and it always hurt to think about.

So, he lay alone and stared at the roof, waiting for the day his feelings would go numb and vanish.

His moping was interrupted by a knock on the wall and he peered over the bed’s railing in confusion; the team never knocked before coming in.

Coco stood in the doorway, looking up at him. Even though she was wearing her glasses, he could see the concern on her face.

“Oh, hey,” He greeted her, pretending not to know why she was here. “Did you need something?”

“No,” Coco pulled off her glasses, her gaze fixed on him. “But I think you do.”

Cobalt looked away. “It’s fine.”

Coco gazed at him. “I know you better than that, Cobalt,” She replied. “I haven’t seen you this miserable since that boy in combat school broke your heart. What happened?”

Cobalt sighed. “I just…I don’t want to cause any problems.” It would be just like Coco to start treating Storm harshly if she found out and while he wasn’t entirely opposed to the idea, it wasn’t something he wanted to be known for. People would easily connect it to him and people would assume he was some petty guy who used being family with an authority figure to his advantage.

Coco leaned stubbornly against the wall. “I’m not leaving until you tell me what’s wrong,” She insisted. “You’re my kid, I’m not just going to stand by while you’re upset.”

Cobalt there was no point in trying to get her to leave; she’d stand there all day if she had to, and a small part of him decided that he could use motherly comfort right now anyway.

“Okay, he relented, climbing down from the bed and sitting on Lily’s. “But promise me you won’t overreact.”

Coco widened her eyes innocently. “Would I do that?” At the glare Cobalt gave her, she became serious again. “I won’t, I promise.” She came over and sat beside him. “So? What’s going on?”

It hurt Cobalt to think about, but he dove into the story anyway. “I had a crush on someone for a while, another student. They seemed really nice and a few weeks ago they asked me out.”

Coco’s eyes narrowed. “Did they stand you up?” She asked sharply.

“ _Mom_ ,” Cobalt reminded her.

Coco backed down. “Right. Keep going.”

Cobalt sighed. “They didn’t stand me up. The date was going great, but then…” He poured into what had happened, Coco’s face growing darker as he did. A flicker of guilt crossed her face when he brought up that he wished they’d been suspended.

“So, I’ve been trying to avoid them,” Cobalt finished. “Seeing them around after that, it’s just…it’s hard.”

“Oh, honey,” Coco pulled Cobalt into a hug. “I’m so sorry you had to deal with that. Does your team know?”

Cobalt nodded against her. “They’ve been doing their best to help me through it.” Since that night, all three girls had been showering him in affection and still giving him space when he needed it. He appreciated it, but he wished it was doing more to lift his spirits than it was.

“Well, at least you had someone,” Coco sighed. “I wish I’d come and spoken to you earlier, though.”

“It’s okay,” Cobalt assured her. “I’m glad you gave me the space.”

Coco released him from the hug and sighed again. “You’re right about Rowan and Birch,” She admitted. “I should have done more to punish them.” She narrowed her eyes. “If they ever do anything like that again, I’ll be discussing suspension with Glynda.”

Slight alarm pulsed into Cobalt. “You don’t need to!” He insisted. “I don’t need special treatment.”

“It _isn’t_ special treatment,” Coco replied firmly. “I said that discrimination wouldn’t be tolerated here, and I need to follow through with that. You aren’t the only one they’re hurting.”

“Okay, just…” Cobalt looked away. “Don’t do anything about Storm. If you start giving them a hard time just for this, people are going to start jumping to conclusions.”

“I know,” Coco admitted. “But, if I’m being honest, I don’t think I’ll need to.”

Cobalt blinked at her, confused. “What do you mean?”

“You hadn’t noticed?” Coco seemed surprised before she seemed to realize. “Oh, I suppose you wouldn’t have if you’ve been avoiding them. But they’ve been studying faunus rights lately,” She explained. “I see them in the library, reading books and looking stuff up about it. I’ve caught them asking Ilia outside of class too. I wasn’t sure why they were so interested until now.”

Cobalt stared. “You think…they’re trying to learn more?”

“I can’t say for sure what their intentions are, but it’d make sense,” Coco replied. “They’ve been at it for a couple of weeks now.”

Cobalt’s head spun. Could it really be that he’d gotten through to Storm after all? That they were trying to be better? Was it a ploy to get him back, or was he really trying to improve?

“Thank you,” He said to Coco. “For telling me this. I think…I think I should try talking to them. Maybe I brushed them off too soon.”

Coco placed a hand on his shoulder. “Hey, nobody can blame you for getting angry. You were completely in the right.”

Cobalt nodded. “I know, but…I think if they’re trying to be better, I should hear them out. Especially when they’ve had the decency to leave me alone when I asked.”

“If you’re sure,” Coco responded. “It could be a good idea. I think they’re having lunch in the cafeteria. Do you want me to walk there with you?”

Cobalt couldn’t help but chuckle slightly at the offer. “No, it’s okay. I can do it myself.”

Coco smiled warmly at him. “I keep forgetting that you don’t need me for everything anymore.”

Cobalt wrapped her in a tight hug. “There are some things I’m always going to need you for,” He assured her. “I love you, mom.”

Coco hugged him back. “Love you too, kiddo.”

With a goodbye, Cobalt headed to the cafeteria. He hadn’t been there in so long that the crowded-ness was almost overwhelming, but he regained his nerves before too long.

At least, until he saw Storm, sitting with Yarrow at the side of the room. Notably, they weren’t with Rowan or Birch; a good sign. Cobalt wasn’t sure how Yarrow felt about faunus, but he’d at least never acted out towards them. In all honesty, the short boy was rather quiet and just tended to stick to Storm.

Taking a deep breath, he walked over.

Yarrow’s eyes widened as he saw him and he nudged, Storm, who looked up and froze in the spot.

“Uh, h-hey Cobalt,” They managed. “It’s um…good to see you.”

Cobalt glanced at Yarrow. “Could you give us the space to talk?” He asked, trying to be polite.

Yarrow blinked. “Oh, uh- yeah, of course.” He grabbed his tray and stood up. “I’ll go…eat outside or something.”

Once he was gone, Cobalt blinked down at Storm. “Do you mind if I sit?”

Storm shifted in their chair, looking nervous. “Yeah, sure. I don’t mind.”

Cobalt sat across from them. Neither looked at each other in the eye. After a moment of awkward silence, Cobalt spoke.

“My mom- Coco, I mean- told me what you’d been doing,” He said. “Is it true that you’ve been doing research on faunus rights?”

Storm stared at the table. “Yeah, I…I’ve been thinking a lot about what you said. You were right. I didn’t know anything about faunus or what you guys have been through.” They managed to look up at Cobalt. “I’ve been wrong to do what I did in the past. I’m so sorry for all of it.”

Cobalt wished he couldn’t already feel his heart warming. He had to be safe about this. “I’m glad you’re trying,” He replied. “Not many others would.”

Storm rubbed their neck. “Yeah, I’ve…been trying to get the others to learn too. Yarrow’s been doing okay, but Rowan and Birch have been giving us hell for it.” A look of frustration crossed their face. “I just don’t get why they’re so unwilling to learn. So much stuff they think they know is just… _wrong_.”

“That’s how it usually is,” Cobalt explained. “Some people are too small-minded to ever acknowledge that what they’ve grown up learning could be wrong.”

“I guess I’ve been small-minded too,” Storm admitted. “No, I _know_ I have been. It’s just…the way it is in Atlas. I know that’s no excuse though.” They added on. “But man, I just…it’s crazy. I would always hear so much about the humans the faunus have killed in the wars, but nobody ever told me that almost every instance of it came after humans had slaughtered even more of them. Did you know that?”

Cobalt smiled wryly. “Yeah, it’s…kind of common knowledge with us.”

Storm looked down. “Right, yeah. That makes sense.” They sighed, before looking back up at Cobalt, regret and guilt swimming in their eyes. “Cobalt, I’m just…I’m so sorry. Not just for what I’ve done to you, but the harm I’ve caused to anyone else. I wish I’d realized sooner how wrong I was.”

“At least you _did_ realize,” Cobalt assured them. “It may not be enough to make up for the past, but it’s good that you’re trying.” He hesitated before adding cautiously, “So long as you’re doing it for the right reasons.”

“Don’t worry,” Storm amended quickly. “I understand if you’re not interested in me anymore and that’s not why I’m doing this. I want to be better. For everyone, not just you. I promise.”

Cobalt could hear the sincerity in their voice. Part of him wanted to admit that his feelings still lingered, but he knew better. He still couldn’t dismiss what Storm had done and he had to be careful.

“I appreciate that,” He replied. “I hope you can keep following through,” He though for a moment, before relenting to admitting the truth. “I’m not ready to try things again with you, but…maybe one day.”

Storm smiled back. “It’s okay if you don’t,” They assured him. “I don’t mind if I can’t ever be in a relationship with you. But I’d like your respect, at least. Once I earn it.”

Cobalt smiled gently at them. “You’re getting there, don’t worry.” At the very least, this was a start.


	20. Boiling Point

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The night of Beacon's end-of-term dance, pent-up frustrations finally spill over.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> now is the time to SCREAM
> 
> (this is today's second update- please remember to check out chapter 19 too if you haven't!)

Watching the older teams carry stuff to the ballroom for that night’s dance filled Astra with excitement. It had been so long since she’d been able to have a full party with lots of people and she was looking forward to what kind of events they’d have.

“So, what made them want to throw a party this early?” She asked Cobalt as she sat beside him on the large hallway’s floor, sharing chips from a bowl.

“Well, they used to do it during the second semester, right before first-years had their first official missions,” Cobalt explained, grabbing a handful of chips, “But after Beacon was rebuilt and my mother started working here, it was changed so that we didn’t have to deal with so much in one week.”

Astra shrugged. “I guess that makes sense. I don’t think I’d be able to handle a mission once I’m all partied out.” She dove her hand into the bowl, only for her hand to hit crumbs. “Wh-” She glared jokingly at Cobalt. “Dude! I hardly got any of those!”

Cobalt swallowed his mouthful and grinned sheepishly. “Sorry,” He apologized. “I had a small breakfast.”

Astra sighed. “Alright, fine. I guess I’ll just go buy more.”

“Do you need me to pay for them?” Cobalt offered.

“Nah,” Astra waved him off. “They’re cheap anyway.” She hopped to her feet. “I’ll be back with more snacks! Don’t watch the daily lives of other people too much without me!”

She made her way back up the hallway to find the nearest snack machine, more excitement growing as she passed a poster advertising the dance. This was going to be _so much fun_. She couldn’t wait for the games, the entertainment, any prizes the games might offer…she couldn’t imagine a better way to end the term before having to go back home to a quiet life for a couple of weeks.

Finding a machine, she was about to grab what she needed from it before she spotted a familiar black ponytail on the other side of the hallway. Dismissing the chips, she hurried over to greet her.

“Hey, Luna!”

Luna jumped and spun to face her. “Oh, hey Astra!” She replied. “I thought you were hanging out with Cobalt?”

“Ah, I am,” Astra confirmed. “But he ate all my chips, so I needed to grab more.” She perked up. “Oh hey, do you wanna come and people-watch with us?”

Luna smiled, but shook her head. “I’d love to, but I’m cheering Lily on while she trains with Jaune. I just came to grab her some water.”

Astra grinned. “Aw, that’s sweet of you! I’d join you if I weren’t already doing something. I’ll leave you to it though!”

She turned to get back to buying her chips, but Luna called after her.

“No, wait!”

Astra turned again and gave her a quizzical look. “What’s up?”

Luna was staring at the floor, shuffling her feet. “There’s just- I wanted to ask you something. It’s not a big deal if you’re busy though.”

“Ah hey, I’m never too busy for you, Luna,” Astra chirped in reply. “What did you need?”

Luna turned red and for probably the millionth time that term, Astra wondered if there’d been a sudden heat change. She never seemed to be able to pick one up, but maybe Luna was just especially susceptible to the heat. There _was_ that whole ‘dark hair’ thing.

Luna grabbed at her hair. “I was just uh…wondering…” Her eyes darted up to Astra. “Did you want to go to the dance? With me, I mean?”

The words had come so quickly that it took a few moments for Astra to register them, but when she did, she let out a small chuckle. “Well, of course! I figured we were all going together, right?”

Was that a flicker of frustration on Luna’s face? Anxiety stabbed into Astra. Had she said something to upset her or was Luna’s mind elsewhere? If it _was_ to do with her, how could she fix it? She was close to asking if she was okay when the frustration seemed to fade as quickly as it had appeared.

“Right!” Luna replied. “All of us! As a team! That’s what I meant.”

Astra chuckled again. “Alright, Luna, well don’t worry, we’ll all be there to hang out!” Maybe the frustration she’d been had just been Luna’s classic nervousness. For extra assurance, she added, “It’ll be fun!”

“Right,” Luna replied again, not meeting Astra’s eyes. “Well, I should get back to Lily. Can’t leave her without support.”

Without another word, she turned and hurried away. Astra stared after her, still a little confused, before shrugging and heading back to Cobalt.

“No chips?” He asked as she approached.

Astra checked herself, surprised. Somehow, talking to Luna had made her forget why she’d gone out there in the first place. “I guess I forgot,” She replied. “I ran into Luna; she was being…kind of weird?”

“Ah, that’s fine. I think we should go back to the dorm anyway.” Cobalt stood up. “What do you mean by Luna being weird?”

Astra fell into step beside him as they started walking back. “I think she’s just nervous about the dance,” She replied. “She seemed not to know we were all going because she had to check whether or not I was.”

Cobalt blinked at her. “Are you…sure that’s what she was asking?”

“Well, yeah,” Astra replied. “What else would she be asking?”

“…Right.” Cobalt’s lips tightened and Astra briefly wondered if there was something he wasn’t saying, but she couldn’t imagine what in the world he’d have to hide.

“Well, anyway,” Astra decided to change the topic away from Luna. “Are you excited about the dance?”

Cobalt shrugged passively. “Yeah, I guess.”

Astra clasped her hands together. “It’s been so long since I’ve been to a proper party,” She gushed. “What kind of games do you think they’ll have?”

Cobalt stared at her. “Uh…games?”

“You know, party games!” Surely, he’d _been_ to a party before?

“Uh, Astra,” Cobalt replied. “I hate to break it to you, but it’s not that kind of party. It’s just…a dance.”

Astra stopped walking, her enthusiasm slipping away. “Wait…you’re serious?”

Cobalt looked apologetic. “Yeah, it’s nothing huge like that. It’ll just be…dancing, pretty much.”

Astra sighed, her excitement squashed as she started walking again. “Aw, man…”

Getting back to the dorm, she flopped onto Luna’s bed as Cobalt started sifting through his clothes to find something to wear. Astra was utterly disappointed.

No games? No prizes? No _fun_? What kind of party was this? She was fully aware that plenty of parties just involved standing around and not really doing anything, but they certainly weren’t the kind of party _she_ could enjoy.

After a while, Luna and Lily walked in, the latter clearly exhausted from her extra training.

“Ugh, I’m going to need a shower before I get dressed,” Lily sighed, sniffing her armpits and reeling away. “Jaune was really hard on me this afternoon.”

Luna blinked at Astra. “Aren’t you going to get ready?”

Astra rolled onto her back. “Turns out, it’s not a real party,” She moped. “I know I said I was going, but…I think I’ll just stay here tonight.”

“What?”

There was a sharpness to Luna’s voice. Surprised and slightly concerned, Astra sat up. “I’m really sorry Luna, it just doesn’t seem like it’ll be as much fun as I thought.”

Luna stared at her. “That’s- no.” She shook her head, and Astra was sure of the frustration this time. “No, I can’t keep saying it’s okay.”

Lily moved away from Luna, standing beside Cobalt and exchanging a look with him that Astra didn’t understand. Was _everyone_ keeping secrets from her?

She climbed off the bed and stepped towards Luna. “Are you okay? I didn’t think you’d care all that much…”

Luna looked sharply up at her. “You didn’t think I- are you _kidding_ me!? Do you think about _anything!?_ ”

Astra’s discomfort grew. This was weird, confusing, and she didn’t like it one bit. “What are you talking about?” She asked nervously.

Luna lifted her hands to her head, her face red and eyes wide. “You can’t possibly not know!” She burst out. “Everyone else thinks I’ve been _obvious_ ; how can you not know!?”

Astra glanced at Lily and Cobalt, who looked severely uncomfortable, then back at Luna, feeling extremely anxious and strangely miserable. “Luna, I don’t-”

“You don’t _what?_ ” Luna snapped. “You don’t care? You don’t think you’re interested?” She began to pace, her face contorted with stress and frustration. “Every time, I think _something’s_ going to happen, and you _always_ shoot me down. I don’t know why I keep falling for it!”

Astra backed away, panic rising in her chest. Was she dreaming? was this some kind of nightmare? She couldn’t explain why, but the last thing she wanted was for Luna to be mad at her. And yet, here they were.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about!” She protested desperately. “Please, you’re my friend, I don’t want to hurt you!”

“That’s exactly what’s hurting me!” Luna shot back, her eyes wide and filled with tears. “Don’t you _get it!?_ ”

“Get _what!?_ ”

“That I like you more than you’re _ever_ going to like me!”

The words hit Astra like a truck. The break in Luna’s voice when she’d said them, the _desperation_. Was she saying what she thought she was?

Before she could say anything, Luna shook her head, squeezing her eyes shut. “Just…forget I said anything.” She croaked. Turning, she rushed out of the room, the door shutting beside her.

Astra was left in pain and bewilderment, tears welling up in her own eyes. She was shaking and hadn’t even realized it. She turned to Lily and Cobalt, who looked deeply sympathetic.

“Guys…?” She asked tentatively, her voice shaking. “What’s going on?”

Lily stared at her softly. “You really had no idea, huh?”

“She likes you, Astra,” Cobalt added. “She has since she met you, I think.”

Astra stared. “Like…like a crush?” Was it even possible? Luna Xiao Long, thinking of _her_ that way? When she was just the kind-of-annoying party girl from Atlas?

“Yeah,” Cobalt replied gently. “Like a crush.”

Astra didn’t know what to say. She hardly knew what to _think_. For the whole semester, and her friend, probably her _best_ friend, had a crush on her. Probably the first person _ever_ to have a crush on her, and it was Luna. _How_ could it be Luna? How was Astra worth that?

And worst of all, how had she not _noticed_? How had she managed to break her best friend’s heart without even knowing? The last thing she had ever wanted to do was hurt Luna. Not when she meant more to her than anyone else here, not when she was so _important_ to her.

She froze as the thought entered her mind. _Wait._

She had to ask. “What does…what does a crush feel like?”

“It’s kind of hard to explain in words,” Cobalt replied. “But it’s…warm. And sometimes it can be downright hot. You find yourself getting excited just being near them and you never want to hear them stop talking. It’s amazing and confusing and really difficult, all at the same time.”

Horror settled in Astra’s belly as shame washed over her. And yet, something felt lifted. “Oh, Gods,” She sat down heavily on Luna’s bed, staring straight forward. “I’m so stupid. The way I always feel around her…is that why it’s so different to when I’m around anyone else??” She stared at her teammates desperately as slight amusement crossed their faces.

“So, you do like her back, huh?” Lily asked.

Astra wanted to sink into the bed. “I think I do…” Briefly, she imagined what it might be like to date Luna, and her heart glowed as if she’d used her Semblance inside her body. How had she denied it to herself for this long? How could she be so _stupid?_

She lay back on the bed with a thump. “I’m a horrible person…”

Cobalt stepped forward. “Hey, no, this is a good thing!” He insisted. “You can fix this!”

Astra sat back up. “But she hates me now!” She shook her head. “After all those times I let her down… _oh, Gods_.” Realization slammed her in the chest. “She was trying to ask me to the dance, wasn’t she? _Specifically_ , me.”

Cobalt looked awkward. “Yeah…I think she was.”

Astra darted forward and grabbed Cobalt’s shirt in desperation. “Tell me how to fix this.”

Cobalt exchanged a look with Lily. “I think there’s something we can do.”

Lily nodded and smiled at Astra. “What’s your classiest outfit?”


	21. Night Sky

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A much-needed talk is had.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> cries

Luna didn’t know if it was her face that was hot, or her tears. It was probably both. All she could feel was burning frustration and overwhelming misery as she sat slumped against an outside wall of the dorm building, her head buried in her arms. She didn’t know how long she’d been there for, but it was long enough that the sun had already set and the moon now illuminated the early night sky.

What had she been _thinking?_

Letting herself be fooled like that, looking like an idiot in front of everyone. She’d held onto hope for too long and it had been crushed like a delicate flower under an Ursa’s paw. What would be left of her now?

And yet, somehow, she wasn’t angry at Astra. And the longer she sat there for, the more any frustration she felt reversed and targeted herself.

Guilt rose up. Shame. Her words to Astra echoed in her head, and she saw Astra’s confusion and hurt played over and over again. What was wrong with her, to yell at her like that? Deep down, Luna knew. She knew Astra hadn’t had a clue. And that was frustrating, but ultimately, _not her fault_. But Luna had taken things out on her anyway, like an idiot.

How could she mend their friendship now, after acting like that? _Could_ she mend it at all? Could she fix things, knowing that these feelings weren’t going to go away and that she’d have to suffer through them while continuing to insist that things were fine? When Astra _knew_ now that they weren’t?

She didn’t want to move or even look up. She wanted to stay frozen here, wallowing in her despair as she tried to gather the scattered thoughts in her head.

It was awful. Her whole life, she’d always expected the worst. And more often than not, the worst never happened. But then there were cases like this when it _did_ , and she had no plan to resolve anything.

Maybe she should apologize for blowing up; for boiling over like that. But then, what would that help? It wouldn’t change anything, wouldn’t erase the moment. And what would happen afterward? How could they continue on after this, as if nothing had happened?

Her thoughts were interrupted by a sudden extra wave of anxiety, sorrow, and shame that threatened to overwhelm what she already felt. It took her a moment to realize that they were not her own feelings, just feelings from someone else that had been strong enough for her Semblance to pick up on without her meaning it to. She looked up.

It took her a moment to recognize who stood before her. It was Astra, illuminated by the moonlight and dressed like Luna never seen her before. Her bright clothes were gone, replaced by a sharp black tuxedo, and her hair was pulled from its wild, fluffy state into a neat bun, with thin, even strands of hair on either side. It was hard to tell, but it looked like she was wearing makeup for once as well. She looked absolutely stunning. And here Luna was, tear-stained and messy-haired.

Despite how pretty she looked; Astra’s face was washed with the shame and anxiety that Luna had picked up from her and she was shaking slightly. Luna had never seen her so nervous.

“I-I’m so sorry, Luna.” Astra started, her voice strained. “I’ve been really stupid.”

Luna took a moment to find her voice, guilt stabbing into her. Astra shouldn’t be the one apologizing. “N-no! I’m the one who’s sorry. I…” She sighed and stared at the ground, wiping her face with her sleeve. “I shouldn’t have said any of that; I overreacted. It’s not your fault that you don’t feel the same way I do.” _Even though I wish you did._

“Um, that’s…the thing, though.” Astra replied, her nervousness seeming to grow. “I need to explain something to you.”

Luna stared at her. “…What do you mean?”

Astra shuffled her feet. “I, uh…can I sit?” Her voice was quiet and awkward.

Luna managed a nod. As Astra sat against the wall beside her, she tucked her arms closer to her chest, not wanting to risk the temptation of reaching out.

Astra tucked herself into the same position Luna was in, pulling her knees to her chest and staring straight forward.

“I don’t…really know much about friendship,” She admitted. “And I know even less about romantic relationships. I’m not that great at either.”

The words surprised Luna. “Aren’t you…the leader of friendship?”

Astra huffed a quiet laugh. “I know I call myself that,” She replied, her face not matching the forced lighthearted tone of her voice. “But I…don't really have much experience when it comes to forming meaningful relationships with other people.”

Curiosity poked its way into Luna’s mess of emotions. “But you’re…you.”

Astra smiled slightly. “I guess you guys all thought I was pretty popular back home,” She replied. “And I guess that’s true. I hung around with a lot of people. But…” She blinked slowly. “None of them were ever my friends. They’d eat lunch with me sometimes, gossip with me…but they’d avoid me a lot, too. For one reason or another. Whether it was because they hung out with bigoted people who didn’t approve, or just because they thought I was annoying. It was usually both.”

Luna felt a rush of sorrow for her. She’d always wondered why Astra rarely brought up what her old social life was like, and now it made sense. She couldn’t imagine not having anyone to turn to when she needed it, between Cobalt and her extended family. She’d always had _someone_.

“I had a couple of what you could call friends, as a kid,” Astra continued. “But they were both older than me and ended up being trained personally by their parents. Through all of combat school, I was…alone. And as for _romance_ …” She huffed and leaned her head against the wall, a wry smile on her face. “I’ve never had a clue. I guess it doesn’t help that I never had a father and my mother never dated anyone while raising me. I’ve never had a crush, never kissed anyone, and I’ve certainly never dated anyone. I wouldn’t know where to start.”

That explained a lot and Luna felt even worse for having exploded at her. She should have known. She curled up even tighter, wishing she knew what to say.

Astra kept going, still looking straight forward. “As you can imagine, all that meant I had absolutely no idea how to tell that someone had a crush on me. And I certainly wouldn’t believe it if anyone else had told me. Even more embarrassing…” She seemed to hesitate, biting her lip, before finally turning her head to gaze at Luna. “I never even noticed that I’d been feeling the same way this whole time.”

The words took a moment to register, but when they did, they speared into Luna like the softest arrow. “You…what?”

Astra smiled and looked forward again. For the first time, Luna saw her blush.

“Things always felt different with you,” She explained. “I never knew why I liked hearing you talk so much, or why I always got so excited whenever I got to spend time with you.” She looked back at Luna. “Pretty dumb, huh?”

Luna didn’t know what to say. She didn’t even know what to _feel_. It was like she was feeling every emotion at once, but nothing felt _bad_ anymore. It bubbled up inside her and came out as a chuckle, building up until she was fully laughing, and she didn’t even really know why.

Astra stared at her. “Are you…okay?”

Luna fought off the chuckles, burying her head in her arms. “Sorry, I just…I feel incredibly stupid, but happy, and I just…” She lifted her head again, resting her chin on her arms. “I could have avoided all of this if I’d just been honest with you from the start, huh?”

Astra let out her own chuckle. “I probably wouldn’t have realized what you were talking about anyway.” She sighed. “I just…I’m really new to this. I don’t know how it’s supposed to work. We haven’t known each other long and I don’t know what to _do_ …” She turned to Luna, the emotions coming off her now warm and light, but still filled with anxiety. “All I know is that…I’d really like to learn with you.”

Luna found herself smiling widely. “I’ve only ever dated one other person before,” She admitted. “And it wasn’t really much. So, if you want…we can learn together.”

“Great,” Astra grinned and stood up. “In that case…” She reached out her head. “Do you want to come to the dance with me? As my date?”

Luna’s heart leaped, and yet, she felt strangely calm. She slipped her hand into Astra’s and stood up. “I would love to. But, uh…” Luna looked down sheepishly at the clothes she was still wearing. “I’m not really dressed for it.”

“That’s okay,” Astra squeezed her hand. “You still look as beautiful as you always have.”

For the first time, Luna made no attempt to hide her blush. “Thank you,” She chuckled lightly. “You look amazing too.”

“Wow,” Astra grinned. “Now I finally know why I feel the way I do when you say stuff like that.”

Hand in hand, they headed around the corner, and Luna wasn’t surprised to see Cobalt and Lily standing there expectantly, looking nervous and hopeful.

“Are you guys…okay?” Cobalt asked.

Luna looked at the hand that held Astra’s, then up at her. “Yeah,” She replied softly. “We are.”

As the team made their way into the ballroom, Luna worried the moment people turned to look at her, knowing she’d be judged for wearing her regular outfit to a fancy event. But as she looked at Astra again, she found herself not minding what other people thought of her, just for that night. After such a disaster, everything had turned out fine. Better than fine, even. She was here _with_ Astra. It was everything she’d wanted since starting at Beacon, even if it had come on unexpectedly. As she danced and laughed with Astra, her anxiety felt the lowest it had been for a long time. She knew it would come back later at some point, but for now, she didn’t mind. Everything was great.

And then, after a few songs had passed, the team snuck out of the ballroom, Luna remembering that Astra hadn’t been interested in the dance itself. They went back to their dorm, played their own music out of cheap speakers, and played party games as the night went on. Luna couldn’t stop staring at Astra and, for the first time, noticed that Astra couldn’t stop staring at _her_ , either. It was as if the event from earlier that day had never happened at all.

For the first time in many years, Luna had a feeling things were going to be just fine.


	22. Growth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lily enjoys a casual talk with Cobalt and Storm, before farewells are said as Beacon's first semester draws to a close.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> and with this, we cap off llac's first term as huntsman-in-training! i hope you guys are excited for what i have planned for their holidays!

Luna and Astra had become almost inseparable over the past few days. Nothing overly sickeningly sweet, of course. It wasn’t as if they were Rowan and Birch, who’d feed each other food while making gross cooing noises like a mother did to her infant child. No, the way Luna and Astra were around each other now was just overwhelmingly sweet and also very awkward. Upon a compliment from one- which happened often- the other would become a stuttering, squealing mess. The most intimate they’d ever gotten so far was hand-holding, but they did so frequently and would only let go if they were too far away from each other- which they rarely were- or if they needed both hands for something.

Was Lily happy for them? Absolutely. Were they extremely adorable together? Absolutely.

Were they still mildly annoying in a way that could only be tolerated in relatively small doses? _Absolutely_.

She wasn’t _that_ annoyed, of course, or even really seriously annoyed. She knew they’d tone it down after a while once they passed the awkward stage of a new relationship and became more comfortable and casual around each other. But, for the time being, it still felt awkward for her to be around them while they giggled every time they looked at each other while sitting at the same library table.

Of course, today being the last day of Beacon’s first semester, Lily found herself wondering how they’d cope with not being able to see each other every day for a couple of weeks. The poor girls would be miserable, especially with Astra living in the city and Luna on Patch.

“Alright, well,” Lily stood up. “I’m gonna leave you two to your gushing.” She said teasingly.

Beside her, Cobalt stood up too. “Yep, count me in.” He gave a half-apologetic look to Astra and Luna. “You two are very cute and all, but we single people need some time to chill.”

Luna and Astra exchanged a look, before bursting into giggles, seemingly not minding the chance to spend to alone together- well, as alone as they could be in the middle of the library.

Shaking her head at them affectionally, Lily headed away alongside Cobalt, searching for a quieter spot to hang out.

Beside her, Cobalt stopped, and Lily followed his gaze to see Storm sitting alone in the corner, still intently studying, this time reading a fictional book set during the faunus civil rights movement.

“Do you want to go and talk to them?” Lily asked Cobalt, seeing the hesitation in his eyes.

Cobalt looked unsure. “I don’t know,” he admitted. “I’d like to, but I want to be careful.”

Lily nudged him gently. “Hey, it’ll be fine. I think they’re learning really well. It could be good to just have a casual chat with them.”

Cobalt nodded. “Yeah, okay. It should be good to clear to air a bit more before the holidays.”

As they strolled up to the table, Storm looked up and greeted them with a shy wave. “Hey guys. Did you uh…need something?”

“Do you mind if we sit here?” Cobalt asked. He glanced back to where Luna and Astra were sitting, still chuckling together. “Those two are being…overwhelmingly cute.”

Storm gave a soft laugh. “Right. Yeah, go ahead. I’ll probably keep reading if that’s okay.”

As she sat, Lily decided to indulge them, having read the book before. “Are you enjoying it?”

Storm nodded. “It’s a good read. Really sad though. I know this one’s about a fictional character, but…all this stuff really happened, right?”

Cobalt nodded solemnly. “And some of it still is happening.”

“Gods, I feel awful about not knowing all of this before.” Storm sighed. “Did you know this book is _banned_ in Atlas?”

Lily wasn’t surprised. “Where’d you find that out?”

“Professor Amitola told me when she recommended it,” Storm explained. “Apparently, they ban a lot of books up there that have faunus issues at the forefront. It’s ridiculous.”

“Yeah,” Lily sighed. “Astra told us about that. Apparently, they try pretty hard up there to change or completely erase the telling of history.”

“To be fair, I think Vale’s probably done it too,” Cobalt pointed out. “Considering who was in charge of it for a few hundred years. Probably not in the same way, but stuff definitely would’ve been hidden.”

Lily shrugged. “True.”

Her scroll buzzed, distracting her from the conversation. Checking it, she saw a news update with the headline ‘ _The Ghost suspected to be cause behind burning of small police station_.’

She narrowed her eyes. “Oh, this’ll be fun.” She muttered.

“Hm?” Cobalt glanced at her inquisitively.

Lily showed him the article.

“That’s clickbait if I’ve ever seen it,” Cobalt scoffed. “What’s the article say?”

Lily read it out.

“A small police station just outside of Vale was set alight last night, with severe damage having been done to the building’s exterior before firefighters were able to extinguish the flames. Eyewitnesses report having seen a shadowed figure lurking around the area before the place was started, leading authorities to believe that the felon known as ‘The Ghost’ was behind the incident. No officers were in the building at the time, but it will cost several thousand lien to rebuild what was lost. The police have stated that they’re doing their best to apprehend the criminal. With the first term of beacon Academy ending soon, they have also warned students going on break to stay safe while the Ghost remains free.”

Cobalt shook his head, looking disgusted. “This is pathetic. I can’t believe they’re still going after this person so intently.”

Across the table, Storm looked confused. “Uh…should they not be? Isn’t the Ghost, like…a bad person?”

Lily saw Cobalt tense and jumped in.

“That’s how the media’s twisting things,” She explained. “But nothing this person is doing is as horrific as they’re saying.”

Storm blinked at her. “Didn’t they kill people though?”

“Two people,” Cobalt chipped in. “But most sources have conveniently left out two very important factors. The first is that the wounds were not likely meant to be fatal, according to medical reports. The second is that one victim had been attacking a young faunus unprovoked, and the other had been sexually harassing a teenage girl.”

Storm wrinkled their nose. “That’s gross. And the police haven’t mentioned it?”

Lily shook her head, narrowing her eyes. “The police have no interest in telling the whole truth. They just want to lock people up and ruin people’s lives for the sake of laws that shouldn’t even exist.”

“Right…” Storm was nodding, slowly. “I think I get it. A lot of what I’ve read has mentioned that the police were often at the forefront of the prejudice faunus were subject to. I guess it makes sense that, even today, they’re…not the greatest.”

“They’re really not,” Lily confirmed. “Anything they can do, huntsman can do better.”

“And anything they do is more often than not done out of a bias towards marginalized groups,” Cobalt added. “They’re in it for the power they hold over others.”

Storm nodded again, looking more certain this time. “Right. I understand now.”

Cobalt smiled softly. “I’m glad you do. You’re leaning fast.”

Storm blushed. “I’ll let Yarrow know about this too. He’s always open to listen when I tell him about this stuff.” They leaned forward. “So, the Ghost, then…are they some kind of vigilante?”

“Seems like it,” Lily replied. “It would probably be better if they were doing this stuff outside of the shadows, with a huntsman license, but it’s undoubtable that they’re helping people. They’ve only attacked people who’ve been harming others. As for the theft,” She shrugged. “Honestly, they’re either giving what they’re taking to people in need, or they need it to survive themselves. They’ve never even stolen from local businesses.”

Storm looked satisfied. “Well, in that case, I hope they’re never caught.”

As the afternoon passed by, Lily and Cobalt returned to their teammates, with not long remaining before the school day ended and they’d each be heading home. Lily found her heart aching as they gathered by the gates and began to say their goodbyes.

Astra wrapped Luna in a tight hug. “I’m going to miss you so much. We’re being torn apart so soon…” Pulling away from the hug, she glanced awkwardly at Lily and Cobalt. “Oh, and you guys too!” She opened her arms to them. “Is a hug okay?”

“Of course.” Cobalt gave her a quick hug and Lily followed, pleased that Astra had learned so well to ask for physical contact, and pleased that she herself was becoming more comfortable with it.

She found herself trying not to cry as she looked fondly at each of her friends. They’d all come to mean so much to her, even over just a few months. It would be hard not to wake up and see them every morning.

“I’m really going to miss you all,” She admitted. “You’ve done so much for me…I don’t think I can thank you enough.”

Cobalt grinned at her. “Aw hey, you’ll see us again soon enough. Maybe we’ll even bump into each other in the city before school comes back.”

“And you’re welcome to visit if you like,” Luna added. “All of you.”

Still holding Luna’s hand, Astra beamed. “Right back atcha.” She looked briefly sheepish. “But maybe when my mother’s not home. She can be a bit much.”

Lily chuckled. “Noted.”

After a few more moments, the announcement rang out that the term was officially over. As transports began to arrive to pick students up, Lily said her final goodbyes to her friends and began her walk back home. Pulling her suitcase behind her, she thought of how unenthusiastic she’d been on her way there at the start of the semester. She almost wished she could o back in time and assure herself that she’d been worried for nothing and that she was about to meet some of the most amazing people she’d ever known.

The term hadn’t started well for her, she knew that. And some things had certainly gone wrong. But for anything bag that had happened, there’d been several more good things. She was satisfied and lighthearted as she walked. She’d miss her friends deeply, but she had their contacts in her scroll and she knew they’d be happy to talk to her any time. And even if she wouldn’t see the others, she at least knew she’d get to see Luna during the upcoming meeting.

She didn’t know what the holidays would bring, or the school term after that. But she was looking forward to finding out. She was well on her way to setting things right.


	23. Welcome Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cobalt returns home to a nice welcome from his family.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the beginning of the four holiday chapters! we'll get three more after this and then it's back to beacon~ but not before something quite important happens heheh

“Well, this is my stop.” Cobalt announced as the transport settled down to the ground. He turned to Luna. “You gonna miss me too much?”

She smiled at him. “I’ll be fine,” She assured him. “Don’t worry.”

“I’ll see you in a couple of weeks, then.” Cobalt gave her a quick hug, before stepping off the transport and into the street of one of Vale’s more suburban areas. His house was only a short walk away from here and he found himself at peace to be in his home neighborhood again as he started to walk.

Everything was familiar here, and welcoming. He recognized the neatly trimmed hedge on one side of the street, the old cherry tree on the other. An old cat who had lived in the street for years came up and wound itself around his legs, clearly remembering him somehow as he leaned down to scratch under its chin.

His spirits lifted even higher as his house came into view, big and warm and as comforting to see as it had always been. He quickened his pace and hurried up to the door, turning the handle and pushing the door open as the warm scent of home swept over him.

“Cobalt!!”

He let go of his suitcase to steady himself as both of his younger sisters jumped on him to warm him in warm hugs. Had they grown since he’d seen them last? It sure felt like it.

“We missed you so much!” Kahlua expressed as she and Bailey backed off again.

“We made you welcome-home cookies!” Bailey announced, bouncing on her feet and reminding Cobalt of Astra. The young girl’s ears stood straighter as she puffed out her chest. “ _I_ did all the hard work.”

“No, you didn’t!” Kal protested. “ _Yatsu_ had to help you with the mixer.”

Bailey glared at her. “But _I_ held the bowl still.”

“ _Girls_ ,” Cobalt looked up as Bailey and Kal turned to see Velvet standing in the hallway, hands on her hips, but a fond smile on her face. “I thought we agreed to keep things quiet and peaceful for Cobalt when he got home?”

Both sisters looked sheepish, glancing quickly at Cobalt and then back at their mother.

“Sorry!” Kal squeaked, looking apologetic.

Bailey sniffed. “We wouldn’t have had a problem if _Kal_ hadn’t said anything.”

“Hey!” Kal glared at her again. “ _You’re_ the one who tried to take all the credit!”

“That’s enough,” Velvet warned gently. “Why don’t you two give your brother some space? I’m sure you have a game to go and finish.”

Bailey nudged Kal. “Ooh, wanna go and see if we can beat mom’s high score in _Myth Racers 2_?”

Kal grinned. “Yeah! We’ve gotta beat her at _something_.”

The two raced off, their argument seemingly having vanished into thin air.

Velvet sighed. “Sorry about them. They’ve been looking forward to seeing you all day,” She chuckled. “You should have seen them race out of the school gates to come home.”

Cobalt smiled. “Don’t worry about it,” He assured her. “I’ve missed them.” Wrapping her in a warm hug, he added, “And you, too.” In the months it had been since he’d last had one, he hadn’t realized how much he’d missed her hugs.

“It’s good to have you back,” Velvet replied. “Even if it won’t be for too long.”

Cobalt pulled away from the hug. “So,” He grinned. “I heard there were cookies?”

“They’re not warm, I’m afraid,” Velvet replied as they walked to the kitchen. “We all got up early to bake them before the boys went to work, so they’ve been out all day.”

“Aw, you guys didn’t have to get up early just to make me welcome-home food.” Cobalt grabbed one and bit into it. While it wasn’t warm anymore, it still held all the good feelings that a homemade cookie ever did.

Velvet laughed. “To be totally honest, I think Kal and Bailey just wanted an excuse to bake and eat cookies.”

Cobalt shrugged. “Well, they’re good anyway,” He finished the first one and reached for another. “I take it Fox and Yatsu are still at work then?”

Velvet nodded. “They were hoping to get off early so they could get home in time to welcome you, but the café’s been busy today. They’ve barely gotten a break.”

Cobalt glanced at the clock on the wall. “They should be back soon though, right?” He hoped they wouldn’t work too far overtime; he wanted to be able to give them hugs too. Yatsu, especially, gave the best hugs.

“Yeah, they said things were cooling down,” Velvet replied. “They’ll be back in time for dinner, at least. Do you know when Coco will be getting back?”

“She should get here before too long. She’s just clearing a few things up first,” Cobalt explained.

“Good,” Velvet looked satisfied. “I’ve missed having dinner as a family.”

Cobalt chuckled softly. “I feel that,” He responded. “But it is going to feel weird eating without the team.” He huffed gently. “No more of Lily’s amazing meals or Astra’s demands for takeout.” He was already missing his friends dearly, as glad as he was to be back home. It wouldn’t quite be the same without them around.

Velvet looked sympathetic. “You’ll see them again before you know it,” She assured him. “But it’s nice to hear you’ve all gotten so close within the same time.” She gave a short laugh. “It took me and the others twice as long.”

Cobalt leaned his elbows on the bench. “They’re all really great,” He sighed. “It took us a while to all get along, but once we started, we’ve only gotten closer.” He laughed, thinking of Astra and Luna. “In more ways than one.”

“A close team is a good one,” Velvet told him. She looked up at the photos that hung on the wall of Team CFVY throughout the years, some of which included Cobalt, his sisters, and Team SSSN. “They can become lifelong family, even if they all have their differences.” The affection she had for her friends- her _family_ \- was clear. Cobalt found himself hoping he could look back on Team LLAC in twenty years and feel the same fondness for them.

“So then,” Velvet leaned forward over the bench, changing the subject. “Give me more details about what you go up to over there. You never explained much over calls.”

Cobalt was happy to relay the entire trimester to her. He told her about Lily and how she’d been at first, before she’d figured things out with the team and become closer with them. When he told her about the food fight he’d gotten into, she seemed to have no problem with the fact it had taken place, and only with the idea that he and his friends had been discriminated against. Telling her about Storm prompted an even stronger reaction from her, though she calmed down and seemed satisfied when he assured her that they were learning quickly about how to be a better ally to faunus. She laughed softly when he told her about Luna and Astra’s hopeless pining, and how they’d finally started dating a few days before the terms and had not left each other’s sides since, until that afternoon. The memories, as he talked about them, seemed so far away now, even though some had happened as early as a few days ago. He found himself both longing and excited to go back and make more.

While relaying what he’d learned in training to her, Cobalt suddenly remembered something he’d been meaning to bring up with her ever since he’d begun heading home.

“Oh, by the way,” he brought up. “I want to get my armor updated.”

Velvet tilted her head at him slightly. “What for?”

“Jaune told me at one point during a combat lesson that it’s important to protect your sternum,” Cobalt explained. “I want to add an extra plate to cover it, and maybe a bit more in other areas, just in case.”

Velvet nodded. “Right, that sounds like a good idea,” She agreed. “I’ll be happy to help you with it when I get some free time; just remind me at some point.”

Before Cobalt could reply, Bailey and Kal burst into the room.

“Mooom!!” Bailey complained. “Kal deleted all of my scores!”

“It was an accident!” Kal insisted, waving her hands. “I selected the wrong option and Bailey didn’t _warn_ me in time!”

As Velvet sighed and went to settle the argument, Cobalt found himself smiling in spite of it. He certainly wasn’t going to get to watch silly debates between his younger sisters at Beacon. That was something only home could offer.

He found himself looking forward to dinner that night, once Coco, Yatsu, and Fox were all home. Sure, he was already missing Beacon and team LLAC terribly, but he’d missed the people he’d grown up with too, and it would be nice to spend time with them after so long. It was good to be home.


	24. Boredom

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Astra tries to adjust to being without her team.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> it's not hard to tell i had no plan whatsoever with this one..i hope you enjoy regardless!

As Astra woke the moment the sun began to shine through the window, she instinctively leaned over the side of her bed to wish a cheery good morning to Luna, only to face carpet and be reminded that she was home now and that Luna was all the way over on Patch.

She heaved a whimpering sigh. Sure, it had only been a few days, but she _missed_ her. She missed seeing her sleepy face in the morning with her hair all messy and wild, or how often she’d yawn and talk about how she wanted to go back to bed, or how easily Astra could perk her up with a cup of poorly-made coffee.

She missed the others, too. It just wasn’t the same without them. So quiet. So _boring_. She’d gotten so used to waking up around other people that it was now weird to greet the morning alone. Aside from her stuffed animals, of course.

Despite her old disappointment, she rolled out of bed and prepared herself for the day. There was no point in moping or dwelling on how much she missed her team; she’d just have to find something to distract her until she went to bed that night.

Grabbing her scroll, she sent Luna a text.

‘ _good morning!!! i miss you!!!_ ’

Hesitating slightly, she then added a ‘ _< 3_’ afterward. She knew Luna wouldn’t see it for another few hours, but at least she’d have something nice to wake up to. She just hoped she wasn’t being a bother.

Speaking of nice things to wake up to, she could smell something warm and sweet coming from the kitchen. Following her nose, she strolled through the house to find her mother standing at the stove, a plate of freshly-stacked pancakes on the bench beside her.

Shoving away her longing to see Luna again, Astra put on her best smile.

“Morning, mom!” She greeted. “We’re doing pancakes again?” They’d been a habitual meal of Neon’s since Astra’s return, it seemed.

Neon turned to her and grinned as she placed another pancake on the pile. “Look!” She announced proudly. “I think I’ve finally figured out how to make the shapes.”

Astra blinked at the pancakes. In total honesty, she couldn’t make out what most of them were meant to be, but she wasn’t going to admit that. “They look yummy!” She offered instead. It wasn’t a lie; she knew a pancake’s shape wasn’t exactly going to affect the taste.

“I’m glad you think so,” Neon replied, turning the stove off. “Because I _way_ overestimated how much batter I was going to need,” She laughed. “It’s a pity the boys aren’t here, or else they could” She cut herself off, suddenly looking downcast.

Astra felt a stab of pity for her. “They’re still mad at you, huh?” Neon’s decision to move to Vale with Astra had not been popular with the rest of Team FNKI. She’d insisted to them that she could still make it up to Atlas from time to time for missions, but they’d felt betrayed by her decision to split off from the rest of the group. On one hand, Astra understood their anger. On the other, she found it completely ridiculous that they would judge her so harshly for finally leaving a place that had never been good for her to begin with. Teams split up all their time, whether it was due to wanting to move, or settle down and have families, or any other reason.

Neon sighed. “It’s fine,” She replied. She forced a smile. “They’ll come around, I’m sure. They’re never mad at me for _that_ long.”

Astra could hear the pain in her voice. “You don’t have to stay down here with me, you know,” She said softly. “I’ll be okay on my own.” She was lying, of course. She didn’t know how she’d handle _ever_ living by herself. But she didn’t want her mother’s team holding a grudge over this.

Neon shook her head insistently. “It wasn’t just for you. I’ve wanted out of that place for a very long time. I’d hoped they’d see things the same way,” She sighed again. “But part of that Atlas loyalist mentality is still there with them.”

Astra hated seeing her like this, especially because it didn’t happen often. It wasn’t fair. Neon’s parents had died in the mines when she was young, and Flynt’s family had taken her in, raising her alongside him as a sister. She’d been able to grow up in Atlas mostly fine because she had humans protecting her, but she’d still suffered discrimination, even in her adult years. She had every right to detest that city and to take the chance to get out when she could, but it seemed that her team hadn’t understood. They just saw it as selfishness and disloyalty.

Neon shook herself, seeming to try and snap herself out of it. “But it’s fine!” She said again, forced brightness in her tone. “They’re getting stubborn in their old age, but they’ll understand eventually.” She smiled gently at Astra. “And until then, I’ve still got my shining star.”

Astra grinned at her. “Always.”

Neon clapped her hands. “Alright, that’s enough about me,” She grabbed the plate of pancakes and sat at the table, gesturing for Astra to join her. “What about you? Are you happy to be getting a break?”

Astra sat at the table and grabbed a pancake that looked like it was supposed to be a star-shape. “Yeah,” She admitted. “But I miss the team. It’s weird without them.” She pulled the pancake apart absent-mindedly. “I _just_ started dating Luna. And now I can’t even see her anymore.”

“I wish I could say I understand how you feel,” Neon replied. “But I can imagine how badly you’d like to see her again.”

“Have you ever thought about it?” Astra found herself asking.

“About what?”

“Dating, I mean,” Astra clarified. “I know you’ve had crushes before, but I don’t think you’ve mentioned ever having dated someone.”

“Oh,” Neon chuckled. “I don’t think anyone could handle dating me. I think I’d be a bit much for them.”

Astra shrugged. “I dunno,” She replied cheekily. “Ilia seemed pretty interested when I told her you’d crushed on her once.”

Neon blinked in surprise. “Ilia Amotila? When did you ever talk to _her?_ ”

Astra gasped. “I didn’t _tell you?_ She’s Beacon’s history teacher now!”

Neon stared at her. “So…she lives her now? In Vale?”

Astra nodded enthusiastically.

Neon chuckled softly. “You don’t really think she’s interested though, do you? I’m surprised she even remembers me; we didn’t exactly hang out with the same groups.”

Astra shrugged. “Well, she got all flustered when I told her. Kind of like how Luna did with me before I knew she liked me.”

Neon narrowed her eyes jokingly. “Why exactly did you tell her that, anyway?”

Astra stood, throwing her hands in the air to emphasize her point. “Because I think it would be cool if you got out there!” She waved her hands. “You used to be cool party master Neon Katt, lighting up any room you walked into, and now you’re…” She looked down at her half-eaten pancake. “…Making questionably-shaped pancakes and struggling to find a job.” She leaned over the table to look her mother in the eye. “I love you so much, but your life’s getting kinda sad.”

“Okay,” Neon blinked. “That was…brutally honest. Not hard to see where you got that from.”

“I’m sorry, mother,” Astra closed her eyes wisely. “But it was time you knew the truth. You’re getting boring.”

Neon huffed. “Alright, fine. I’ll contact Ilia and ask her how she’s doing. Will that make you happy?”

Astra nodded. “Very much so.” Even better would be if it led to a date, in Astra’s opinion. Maybe then there’d be someone else ever in the house, for once.

“Do you have her contact?” Neon asked.

Astra pulled out her scroll. “Yep!” Something on her screen caught her attention and she squealed. “Ooh! Luna’s awake!” She checked the message.

‘ _morning! blaze woke me up early, but i’m glad i got to wake up to this :) miss you too, btw_ ’

Her heart leaped. “Aww! She liked my message!” She looked back up at her mother. “Hold on, I’ll give you Ilia’s contact later,” She shrugged. “Or you can just look it up. But I’ve gotta go take this.”

Neon chuckled. “Alright, have fun.”

Astra bounced back to her room and flopped down on her bed to reply to Luna and ask her why her sister had woken her up so early. She sighed wistfully as she laid her scroll down on her pillow and waited eagerly for a response, gazing fondly at the screen. Maybe she couldn’t see Luna in person for the time being, but for now, texting was almost as good. At least it was _something_. With any luck, the holidays would fly by before she knew it, and she’d be back at Beacon with Luna and her friends in no time.

She certainly hoped so. It seemed that, outside of school, nothing interesting was going to happen. Life at home was normal, and boring, and would probably stay that way. She hoped that the next week and a half would fly by in no time.


	25. Meeting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luna accompanies her parents to their meeting with Emerald and takes Lily to a surprising little shop.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> one more chapter until Them
> 
> but for now, fun times!

“Nice day to meet up with your former enemy-turned-good, huh?” Yang stretched as she walked, the metal on her hand glinting in the sun. Blake elbowed her and she put her hands back down. “Sorry,” She apologized. “Things seemed tense.”

“It’ll be fine,” Luna assured her from behind. “Once you guys talk things out and hopefully sort out a plan, any hard feelings still left behind will be gone.”

Yang glanced back at her with a teasing grin. “Now, where did this sudden confidence come from? Looks like Beacon’s been doing a good job on you.”

Luna looked away and tried not to smile. “I’m not _that_ much more confident.” She attempted to protest. Inside, she knew it was helping a _little_ bit. But not enough to be significant.

“Aw hey, don’t be embarrassed!” Yang assured her, motherly comfort replacing her teasing tone. “I’m proud you’ve come so far in such a short time. It takes a good leader to set up something like this.”

“She’s right,” Blake added. “Doing something like this to help your friend shows a lot of maturity and responsibility, and you’re handling it well.”

Luna rubbed her arm, unable to dismiss her parents’ praise. “I mean, it was because of Lily as well,” She admitted. “But…thanks. I’m glad too.”

The three of them had set out a short while ago to head out and meet up with Emerald and Lily. This would be the first of hopefully many, and they’d be discussing each of their shortcomings, making amends, and figuring out what to do in the future. Hopefully, it would lead to better things for the small family. Luna didn’t want to see her friend hurting any longer.

Technically, Luna didn’t _have_ to come, but she knew Lily was going and had seized the chance to be able to see her again, though school would be returning in a few days anyway. She’d asked Blaze if she’d wanted to come too, but her sister had elected to spend the day with their cousins, Summer, April, and Li.

“I’m still surprised that Emerald even had a daughter,” Blake commented, keeping her voice down among the crowds of Vale’s city. She looked slightly downcast. “I wish we _had_ known. We would have helped her with anything she needed.

“That’s what you’ll be working on fixing,” Luna affirmed. “And I don’t think Emerald holds it against you anyway.”

After a moment more of walking, Luna spotted Lily and an older woman she assured was Emerald seated outside the café they’d agreed to meet at. As she approached, she offered a shy wave to Lily, who waved back.

“Emerald,” Blake extended her hand. “It’s good to see you again.” Luna could hear the sincerity in her words. She hoped Emerald could too.

“It’s been too long,” Emerald shook Blake’s hand, though Luna noticed slight hesitance. “Though, I suppose that’s my fault, isn’t it?”

“Hey, don’t worry about that just yet,” Yang replied, shaking her hand as Blake had. She glanced around. “I take it Ruby and Weiss aren’t here yet?”

Emerald shook her head. “Not yet.”

Yang gave a short laugh. “For someone with a speed Semblance, Ruby’s never been great at being punctual. I thought Weiss and Penny would straighten that out in her, but they’ve never been able to.

Emerald chuckled; a slight hole in the tension.

Luna went and stood beside Lily. “Hey,” She whispered. “How’ve you been?”

“Good,” Lily replied a smile. “It’s been pretty quiet without you guys though.” She grinned. “Never thought I’d miss the chaos.”

“Well, while we wait for the other two,” Yang said to Emerald. “How about we grab some coffee? I’m happy to cover it.”

“No, that’s” Emerald started to decline but at a sharp look from Lily, seemed to relent. “Actually, that sounds nice, thank you.”

Luna had a plan in mind for while the meeting was being held, not too comfortable with the idea of sitting around for it when it wasn’t really her business.

“Hey, is it okay if Lily and I go for a wander?” She piped up. “I’d like to show her something.”

Yang grinned at her. “Don’t wanna stick around while the grown-ups talk, huh?” She chuckled and glanced at Emerald. “Are you okay with that?”

“Of course,” Emerald nodded, offering a smile to Luna. “It’s nice to finally meet you, by the way.” She told her. “I haven’t seen Lily this happy in years.”

Luna shuffled her feet awkwardly. “She’s a good friend,” Was what she managed. “I’m happy to do anything I can to make her happy.” Beside her, Lily looked thoroughly embarrassed.

Blake nodded at them. “Go have fun, then. Just be back in a couple of hours.”

“Right.” Luna turned to Lily. “Come on, it’s not far.” She resisted the instinct to gently grab her arm and pull her along as she often did with Cobalt.

She led Lily through the streets, knowing exactly where she was going just from memory. She’d been to this shop several times before and could make it there with her eyes closed if she had to.

“Tell your parents thanks for me, by the way.” Lily commented as they walked.

Luna glanced at her. “What for?”

“Well, this whole thing, for one,” Lily pointed out. “But also…” She sighed. “My mom’s pay was docked. She’s short on money. It was nice of your mother to offer to pay for her drink like that. I know it’s just a small thing, but it’s not a luxury we get very often.”

Luna smiled at her. “Hey, it was nothing,” She assured her. “Yang always pays small things for other people if they let her. It’s an old habit.”

Lily smiled back. “Well, I’m grateful anyway.” She looked ahead. “So, where are we going?”

“We’re almost…” Luna squinted at one of the signs sticking out over the footpath as the sun glared in her eyes. “Ah, there we are.” She quickened her pace, Lily following, until they both stood in front of the shop.

Lily blinked up at the sign above the door. “The CFVY shop…wait, Team CFVY?” She turned to Lily. “They own a café?”

“Well, Fox and Yatsuhasi own a café,” Luna corrected. “But the important thing is, Cobalt works here during the holidays. Aaaanddd if memory serves me right, he should be working right now.” She grinned. “Thought you might like to visit your partner.”

Lily seemed to light up. “Really? That’s awesome!” She peered at the ‘all are welcome’ sign in the window. “I’m surprised I’ve never been here before. Then again, we never really go to public places often anyway.”

“Oh, it’s a great little place,” Luna assured her. “Best coffee in Remnant.” Pushing the door open, she led Lily into the quaint little shop, several flavours of coffee bursting in on her. At the counter, a familiar red-headed man looked up.

“Ah, if it isn’t my favourite customer,” He greeted. “Is that someone new you’ve got with you?”

“Hey Fox,” Luna replied cheerily. “This is Lily, Cobalt’s partner.”

Recognition fluttered across Fox’s face at the name. “Aahh, the fabled Lily. Cobalt talks about you a lot,” He told Lily. “It’s good to finally meet you.”

“You too.” Lily nodded respectfully, before seeming to realize there was no point and looking embarrassed. “Anyway, uh, we heard Cobalt might be here?”

“Yeah, he’s out back,” Fox replied. “But there’s actually someone else here I think you’ll-” He was cut off by a loud gasp from the other side of the café.

" _Luunnnnaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!_ "

Luna barely had time to turn and look before a colourful blur slammed into her, almost knocking her over and wrapping her in a tight hug.

“Astra!” Luna gasped in delight, hugging her back. “I can’t believe you’re here!”

Astra pulled away from her, though she kept her hands on her shoulders. “I can’t believe _you’re_ here!” She replied breathlessly. “I’d never been here before, so I thought I’d check it out and- oh!” She broke off with another gasp, finally seeming to notice Lily. “Lily! You’re here too!” She squealed, stamping her feet lightly. “The whole team’s back together and it’s not even second term!” She grabbed Luna’s hand. “Come on, I’ve got the best spot.”

Fox chuckled as Astra pulled Luna to the other side of the shop, Lily following behind, shaking her head affectionately.

As Luna sat beside Astra in the booth she’d seemingly been sitting at earlier, she kept a hold of her hand. It felt good to be near her again, after a week and a half without even being able to see her face in person. She couldn’t describe how much she’d missed her, especially when she’d yet to tell her parents about the relationship. She wasn’t ashamed at all, but she knew that Yang didn’t have the… _fondest_ opinion of Astra’s mother. She’d already joked about how intense it must be to have her daughter as a partner and Luna didn’t want any worse jokes if she’d told her they were dating _now_. Nevertheless, it was good to see her again.

“So, what are you guys doing here?” Astra asked once they were comfortable.

“Our parents are meeting at the moment,” Luna explained. “But I wanted to show Lily this place while we were here, so we could see Cobalt before school goes back.”

“We certainly weren’t expecting to run into you.” Lily chuckled.

Astra wiggled in her seat. “I had no idea Cobalt even worked here,” She admitted. “But I’ll be coming back here a lot anyway. This place makes the _best_ little cakes!”

“You can thank Yatsu for those,” A new voice replied. Luna looked up to see Cobalt, casually dressed for once, and wearing a cute little apron and nametag.

“Hey,” She grinned at him. “Not on break yet, huh?”

Cobalt shrugged. “I can fix that,” He turned his head towards the kitchen. “Yatsu!” he called. “I’m taking my break!”

“Twenty minutes!” A deep voice called back.

“Great.” Cobalt plopped down in the booth beside Lily. “So, what’s going on?”

Luna shrugged. “Oh, you know, just our parents sorting out history.”

“Not mine,” Astra chipped in. “I was just exploring. But I told you that already.”

Cobalt chuckled. “Right,” He glanced at Lily. “So, meeting’s today, huh? You think it’ll go okay?”

Lily sighed. “I hope so. My mother was really nervous.”

“Hey, it’ll go fine,” Luna assured her. “Mine were a little nervous too,” She chuckled. “I can tell, ‘cause Yang’s been cracking jokes all morning. She only does it _this_ much when she’s worried about something. But they’ll be okay, and everything will get better afterward.”

Lily nodded. “Right. There’s no reason to think anything could actually go wrong.”

“Man,” Astra sighed. “I wish this weren’t such an important thing, ‘cause I would have _really_ liked to go out there and meet them.” Her eyes sparkled. “All of Team RWBY _and_ two Maidens? It’d be amazing.”

Luna squeezed her hand. “You’ll get your chance, don’t worry.” _I’ll just have to let them know we’re actually dating first_.

The conversation was interrupted as Yatsuhashi came over and laid four steaming mugs on the table. “Thought you lot could use some treats. On the house, don’t worry.”

Cobalt grinned up at him. “Aw, thanks Yatsu,” He replied, affection clear in his eyes. He glanced at Astra and Lily. “You guys are gonna love these. I promise you you’ve never tasted better.”

Yatsu ruffled his hair. “Come on, kid, don’t lie to them.” As he walked away again, Cobalt turned back to the group.

“He’s being modest in front of customers,” he whispered cheekily. “But he’s _never_ like that at home.”

Astra sipped at her mug, her eyes lighting up. “Ooh, well he wasn’t kidding!” She exclaimed. “The stuff I make from a tin at home _never_ tastes this good.”

The team continued to talk and joke with each other within the next twenty minutes and Luna relished the time, even if it was brief. After Cobalt got back to work again, Luna and Lily continued to converse with Astra, poking fun at Cobalt as they watched him attend to the occasional picky or rude customer. Luna hadn’t expected to see her whole team again before Beacon’s second term started, but she was glad she had. She’d not bee sure how she’d adjust to being around them again after two weeks apart, but this event assured her of just how quickly she could fall back into familiarity with them.

She found herself hoping that Team RWBY and Emerald were able to feel at least almost as comfortable now that they were talking again. Sure, they’d never been _close_ before, but they’d still been through a tough time together, and Luna knew that could be enough to form a bond in anyone. Hopefully, they were rekindling that bond now and would be ready to work together to help Emerald start a better life, one that would see her and Lily being treated better by society.

It was only a hope, but one Luna clung to, and one she had a feeling would blossom into reality. Just as she and her team had each other’s backs, she had faith that Team RWBY could do the same for Emerald.


	26. Ghost

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> On a stormy day, Lily stumbles upon someone in desperate need of help.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> FUCKING FINALLY
> 
> also hiiiiii longest chapter yet?? longest chapter yet. BOY did i underestimate how long this one would be.

The rain had come on quickly, quick enough that Lily had gotten caught up in the downpour while on her way back to her car. She’d heard thunder in the distance while shopping but had thought nothing of it until the storm had settled in full force above the city and now, she was soaked from head to toe.

At the very least, the rain was relief from the heat, but relief turned to annoyance as the wind picked up and blew cold air all over her wet skin, causing her to feel downright freezing as opposed to the warmth from earlier that day. She’d considered waiting things out in a shop, but she didn’t want to be accused of loitering. It was a common thing for her to get in trouble for.

Reaching the parked car, she flicked rain off her sleeves, groaning. The leather was soaked through and she worried that it wouldn’t be able to fully dry by the time Beacon’s second term started two days from now. Hopefully, it would be warm enough on the day that she wouldn’t need it. All the same, it annoyed her that she may have just ruined the most expensive item of clothing she’d ever owned.

As she reached for the car door, noises that could barely be heard over the constant sound of thunder reached her ears. She turned, quickly, realizing that there was a fight going on nearby. She fixed her eyes on an alleyway a short distance away. Through the pouring rain, alarm shot through her as she spotted dark figures scuffling and heard grunts and shouts of pain. Instinctively, she reached for Evening Jade, but she’d left the weapons at home, figured she wouldn’t need them for a casual shopping trip. Alarm shot through her as she glanced around to see if anyone was nearby to help, but this part of town was often empty, and nobody would be crazy enough to be out in this storm anyway.

She was preparing herself to go in barehanded when two of the figures ran out of sight, leaving the third nowhere to be seen. For a moment, Lily considered leaving and forgetting she’d seen anything, but her instincts as a huntress-in-training screamed at her to see if anyone needed help.

Her guard up, she stepped over to the alleyway and peered inside. For a moment, she didn’t see anyone, but a closer look showed her that a small body was slumped on the hard ground.

She gasped, alarm stabbing into her as she rushed up to kneel beside it. Her worries slipped away as she realized that the body was not that of a child as she’d feared, but an older woman who just happened to be short.

“Are-are you okay?” She asked, panic slamming into her as she prayed the woman wasn’t dead. If she was dead, she didn’t know what she’d do. “Can you answer me?”

No answer came, but to Lily’s immense relief, the woman shifted slightly, her face showing that she was in pain, eyes squeezed shut. Her breath was coming in staggered gasps, but it was still, thankfully, breath.

“Oh, thank the Gods,” Lily sighed. “You’re alive.” She stared at the woman, slight curiosity seeping into her worry. Not only was she small, probably under 5’00”, but her short hair seemed two-toned, though Lily couldn’t make out the colours in the darkness of the alley, especially when said hair was soaked and darkened by rain. She’d never seen her before, she would have remembered that, and yet _something_ about her description seemed oddly familiar.

She scanned the woman’s body. At first, it looked like she was fine aside from a few cuts and bruises, until she realized that the dark pool of liquid seeping out from beneath her wasn’t rainwater.

Lily gasped and rolled the woman over as gently as she could. Upon noticing the wide gash in her torso, Lily felt sick with horror.

“Oh Gods,” She gasped. “You’re really hurt.” She tried to place her hands over the wound in an attempt to stop the bleeding, but the woman flinched away with a barely audible gasp of pain.

“I’m sorry!” Lily apologized, anxiety wreaking havoc on her brain. “I-I have a car nearby. I can get you to the hospital.”

The woman’s eyes finally opened as panic fluttered over her face. Lily realized she was trying to shake her head and move away.

“It’s okay!” She assured her quickly. “I’m a huntress. At least, I’m training to be one. If you don’t want to go to a hospital, then…my mother was a fighter too, she might be able to help you.” She rested a hand on the woman’s shoulder, which seemed to calm her down slightly, though her eyes were still wide with fear and pain. “Please,” she begged. “I can’t just leave you here. You’ll die.”

The woman fell still again, though whether it was from weakness or relenting to Lily’s pleading, Lily couldn’t tell. As gently as she could, praying she wasn’t causing further harm, Lily slid her arms underneath the woman and lifted her arm, struggling to stand. She was lighter than expected, but Lily still wasn’t used to carrying half-unconscious bodies.

“You’re going to be okay,” Lily promised, doubting her own words, but wanting to assure the woman all the same. “I’ll take you back to my house, my mother can help.”

Checking that the area was still clear of people, Lily carried the woman to the car and laid her in the back seat, hoping Emerald wouldn’t mind the blood that was now going to seep into her new seat covers. The woman’s eyes fell shut again and Lily hoped she’d make it home in time.

Trying to steady her nerves, she climbed into the front seat and started the car, taking deep breaths. Thankfully, the car didn’t fail to start as it had a few times before, and she started to drive, headlights shining through the rain.

Thankfully, her house was on the outskirts of the city, a small place in need of a paint job, not far away from where Lily had been to begin with. The drive only took a few minutes, though Lily knew those few minutes could mean the difference between life and death for this woman. To her relief, the woman was still breathing when Lily parked in the driveway and went to pull her out, leaving behind dark bloodstains on the fabric of the seats. She staggered up to the doorway and pushed it open, having no idea what her mother would think when she saw her daughter carrying a bloodstained, barely conscious stranger into the house.

“Mom!” She called. “I need your help!” She wasn’t sure what else to say. _‘Hey, Mom, I found this lady half-dead in an alleyway. Can you help me save her life, so I don’t have to deal with the eternal guilt and trauma of watching someone die?’_

Emerald walked into the living room. “What do you-” She broke off with a gasp as she saw Lily, and the mug she’d been holding dropped to the carpet, its handle breaking off. Her eyes were wide with shock, horror, and recognition.

“ _Neo!?_ ”

 _“What!?”_ Lily almost dropped the woman in shock. _Neo?_ As in, _Neopolitan?_ The silent, deadly criminal who’d trained under and worked for criminal mastermind Roman Torchwick? Who’d worked with Cinder Fall to steal the Relic of Knowledge in Atlas? _That_ Neo?

Emerald shook herself. “Quick, get her to the couch.” She instructed. Lily obeyed as Emerald disappeared into the kitchen. Lily pulled the woman, who was apparently _Neopolitan,_ to the couch, laying her down so that her wound was exposed.

Emerald returned with first-aid bandages in her hands and knelt to stare at the woman, eyes still wide. “It really is her…” She breathed. Looking again and Emerald began to cover the gash as best she could, Lily could see it now. The two-toned hair was pink and brown, and she could see a streak of white in the pink. It was how Neo had always been described to her in stories, though her hair had been described as long and not the short cut it was in now. It made sense now, why the woman hadn’t spoken to her at all. She’d been mute, according to the stories.

Emerald looked up at Lily. “Do you know what happened?”

Lily sat down on the floor and shook her head. “No,” She admitted. “Not really. I saw some people fighting in an alley, but I couldn’t make any of them out. After they were gone, I went to check for anyone who might be hurt and…” She gazed at the injured woman, whose eyes were still shut. “There she was.”

Emerald rested her hand on Neo’s shoulder. “Neo?” She asked. “Can you hear me? It’s Emerald Sustrai. We worked together.”

Neo’s eyelids flickered as they opened slightly. Recognition fluttered across her face upon seeing Emerald, along with a trace of slight fear.

“It’s okay,” Emerald added quickly, “I’m here to help. I don’t want to hurt you.”

Neo’s eyes closed again. Lily couldn’t tell if she was relaxing or just didn’t have the strength to keep them open.

Both Lily and Emerald watched in concern as blood continued to soak through the bandages. Neo’s breathing was growing shallower, and Lily’s heart clenched. Whatever this woman had done, Lily didn’t want to see her die. She didn’t want to see _anyone_ die.

Emerald swallowed. “I’m not sure she’ll make it, Lily.” She said softly.

Panic flared through Lily. “No, there must be a…” She gasped. “Jaune,” She realized. “Jaune Arc, he can help,” She told her mother urgently. “He can give his Aura to others; he’s saved lives with it before.”

Emerald was nodding slowly, looking slightly unsure. “I know about that,” She replied. “But I’m not sure if she’ll want help from him. They weren’t exactly…friends.”

Lily felt a rush of exasperation. “What does that matter?” She demanded. “You said it yourself, she’ll die if we don’t do something.” She tried not to shake. “I don’t want to see that happen,” She said softly, her voice trembling. “And I _know_ you don’t either.”

“You’re right,” Emerald sighed, her eyes darkening. “We should do what we can. Go on, call him. Tell him to get here as quickly as you can.”

Lily grabbed her scroll from her jacket pocket and scrolled for Jaune’s contact.

‘ _We need your help_ ,’ She sent. ‘ _No time to explain, come as fast as you can_.” She attached her address to the text. It only took a second for her scroll to show that the professor had seen it, sending an ‘ _OMW_ ’ in reply.

Taking a deep breath, she placed her scroll down. “He’s coming.” She told Emerald.

Emerald looked more shaken up than Lily had ever seen her, casting a sad look at Neo as she turned her back to the couch and sat with her arms resting on her knees, stress plain on her face. Silence fell, aside from Neo’s ragged breathing, which was growing shorter with every few minutes.

“She wasn’t a bad person, you know.” Emerald said at last, her voice soft.

Lily glanced up at her. “Huh?”

“Neo,” Emerald clarified. “She wasn’t as bad as the stories say. She may have worked for Roman, and then Cinder, but she came through in the end.”

Lily leaned forward. “She…betrayed Cinder, right? In Atlas?” Vague memories of learning about it stirred in her head.

Emerald nodded. “She realized she was just being used as a tool for Cinder’s revenge. She tried to kill her, and almost ended up killed herself. We saved her, and in return, she helped us with the information we needed to get the upper hand on Cinder. Part of it was in revenge, I know that much. But…” She gazed across the room, looking at nothing. “I think part of her genuinely wanted to help.”

“Didn’t she disappear after that?” Lily asked.

“Yes,” Emerald confirmed. “She vanished one day, and none of us have seen her since. Not to my awareness, anyway. We assumed she’d been killed, or that she’d gone into hiding.” She sighed. “I guess it was the latter.” She turned her head and gazed at Neo again. “She’s wearing the same clothes, after all these years. I can’t imagine how she’s gotten by on her own.”

Curious, and noticing Emerald had stopped shaking, Lily prompted her to continue. “You would have worked with her before then, right?” She asked. “When you were…on the other side? What was she like then?”

A slight smile crossed Emerald’s face. “Aside from maybe enjoying a fight too much,” She started. “She was…a kid, really. Kind of a bratty and mischievous one, but she was good company.” She looked down. “I guess you could say that, aside from Mercury, she was the closest thing I had to a friend.” At the mention of her old partner, grief creased her features, but she continued. “We were in it for the same reasons- because we felt we owed it to the adults who took us in.” Slight bitterness crossed her face. “I was always jealous of her relationship with Roman,” She admitted. “He was the biggest asshole in the world, to everyone but her. He actually treated her like his daughter; _cared_ about her. It was everything I wanted to have with Cinder.” She shook her head, as if dismissing the feelings. “We’d play pranks on them,” She chuckled lightly. “Neo, Merc and I, against any of the adults, before things got too serious. She was always great at it with the illusions she could create.”

Something clicked in Lily’s mind. “Illusions…” She breathed. “Holy shit.” Everything was falling into place. “ _She’s_ the Ghost.”

Emerald stared at her. “Do you really think so?”

It all made sense to Lily now. “It has to be,” She replied. “That’s how she was going unseen. She must have been casting herself in illusions to look like a shadow.” She stared at Neo. “That must have been how she got hurt. She must have been trying to stop those people from hurting someone, but they got to upper hand on her.”

“Of course,” Emerald sighed. “She’s been trying to help people this whole time,” She looked at Neo’s wound, anger and sorrow battling in her gaze. “And this is what she gets for it.”

“No wonder she didn’t want me bringing her anywhere,” Lily realized. “She must have been worried about being found out.” She was glad now that she hadn’t taken her to a hospital. If the staff there had found out, she’d have been turned over to the cops in no time, and probably wouldn’t have gotten the medical treatment she needed.

Lily looked up at the sound of the front door opening as Jaune hurried in. To Lily’s surprise, Luna was at his side.

Luna rushed past Jaune and into the room. “Are you okay?” She asked. “I was with Jaune when he got your text and-” She broke off and gasped as she noticed Neo, her hands flying to her face. “Who is that? Are they okay?”

Jaune closed the door and stepped up beside Luna, his eyes wide with shock as he recognized Neo. “Is that…Neopolitan?”

“I think she’s the Ghost,” Lily explained quickly, getting to her feet. “I found her after she’d been attacked; she’s barely holding on. Please,” She begged Jaune. “You can help her, right?”

Jaune still looked shocked, but he nodded. “Of course.” He hurried forward and knelt beside the couch, holding his hands out over the bandaged wound. Lily watched anxiously and Luna crouched beside her, a comforting hand on her shoulder.

Jaune’s Aura showed around his hands and, slowly, the same white glow appeared over Neo’s wound. In the tense silence, Lily heard Neo’s breathing become steadier, and her chest began to rise and fall more naturally. Emerald was watching intently, her worry seeming to fade as Jaune’s Semblance did its work.

After a moment, Neo’s eyes shot open as she gasped and launched herself up, panting. Upon seeing Jaune, her eyes filled with panic and she backed up against the couch.

Emerald leaned up to steady her, grabbing her shoulder gently. “Hey, it’s okay!” She assured her urgently. “He’s helping you, I promise.”

Neo stared at her for a moment, things seeming to register in her mind. She calmed down, but still regarded Jaune warily.

“I know you probably don’t trust any of us after all this time,” Emerald continued gently. “But you need to let Jaune finish healing you.”

“We’re not going to tell anyone you’re here,” Lily added. “We just want to help.”

Neo stared at her, tilting her head slightly. She looked at Emerald, then back at Lily, her eyes widening with surprise. Finally, she relaxed, lying back down and allowing Jaune to finish his work. As the glow faded, Neo took a breath, the lack of pain seeming to relieve her.

Jaune stepped back, regarding Neo curiously. Upon realizing everyone in the room was staring at her, Neo frowned, and narrowed her eyes.

“Hey, no need to look so grumpy,” Emerald teased slightly. She glanced at Lily. “Jaune and my kid here just saved your life.”

Neo sat back up and peered closely at Lily, nodding at her after a while. Lily took it as an expression of gratitude. Then Neo looked up at Jaune, distrust and anxiety crossing her face.

“Hey, look, don’t worry,” Jaune told her calmly. “If you really are this ‘Ghost’ person, I have no intention of turning you in. You’ve been doing real good out there,” He assured her. “Even if your methods are…not entirely ethical.” He hesitated. “Although,” he added. “I think the others need to know about this. As Neo looked suspicious again, he quickly clarified, “Not because of anything you’re doing, but because I think you could use some help.”

As Neo looked like she was going to protest somehow, Emerald laid a hand on her shoulder. “You’re wearing the same clothes you were last time we saw you,” She said quietly. “And you look thin. You don’t have a stable home to go back to, do you?”

Neo hesitated, before resigning and shaking her head.

“Teams RWBY and JNR have been working on helping me,” Emerald continued. “If you’re okay with it, they can help you too. You can stay here in the meantime.”

“Right,” Lily clarified. “We’re huntsman. This is our job. And we’re _not_ under any obligation to involve the police.”

Neo smiled at her, looking satisfied. After a moment of silence, she lifted her hands and did something Lily didn’t understand, and judging by the look of Luna and Jaune’s faces, neither did they.

Thankfully, Emerald was nodding. “She says it’s fine,” She translated. “So long as we don’t ‘try anything’.”

“Alright then,” Jaune confirmed. “Neo can stay here for now, and I’ll talk to the others about helping her.” he stood up. “Is there anything else you need right now?”

Emerald shook her head. “Thank you, though,” She said softly. “After everything, this means a lot.”

Jaune shrugged, giving her a sincere smile. “Hey, it’s my job. Wouldn’t be a very good huntsman if I didn’t do it.”

Luna hopped to her feet and regarded Neo with slight shyness. “Uh…you’re in good hands here,” She told her. “Lily’s cool.”

After Jaune and Luna left, Neo stared at Emerald and gestured to Lily, who didn’t need to understand sign language to know she was asking about her.

“Right,” Emerald chuckled. “We’ve got a lot to catch up on.”


	27. New Term

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> On their first day back, Team LLAC catch up on recent events.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter is so boring i'm sorry

Aside from how different it smelled in comparison to his own house, the dorm was exactly as Team LLAC had left it, and stepping into it after two weeks was a comfort to Cobalt. Lily’s plants were still there, and it looked like she’d been able to find someone to care for them while she was gone. Sadly though, Cobalt noted, the fern Lily had been so fond of was still not looking in good shape. He wondered if she’d replace it soon.

He and Luna were the first to have arrived, by the looks of it; Astra and Lily’s luggage were nowhere to be seen. He grinned at Luna.

“Now would be a great time to snatch up the top bunk if you want.”

Luna huffed lightheartedly. “No way. I could never do that to Astra.”

Cobalt wiggled his eyebrows. “It’d smell like her though.”

Hilariously, Luna looked like she was actually considering it before she gave Cobalt a gentle shove. “That’d be weird,” She chuckled. “Besides, they definitely would have washed the sheets by now.”

Cobalt shrugged. “Your choice.” He sat with his suitcase and opened it to begin unpacking clothes into the dorm’s closet as Luna did the same.

“So, how were your holidays?” He asked Luna. “You know, since a few days ago? Anything happen?”

“Not really,” Luna responded. “Blaze, Li, and April are a bit upset that I’ll miss their birthdays though.”

Cobalt laid his neatly-folded clothes onto the closest shelves. “Oh yeah, I guess it’ll be their first time celebrating without you, huh?”

Luna nodded. “And to think I’d have been able to be there for Blaze if term had started just two days later. I think she’s more torn up about it than she’s letting on.”

“Sixteen is a big deal,” Cobalt replied. “Hopefully you guys can at least meet for lunch on the weekend or something.”

“Yeah, hopefully.”

Just as they both finished unpacking. Hurried footsteps in the hallway announced Astra’s arrival, and the moment the red-headed girl entered the room, she flung herself over to hug Luna enthusiastically.

“I know it’s only been a few days, but I’ve missed you so much!” She squealed. She pulled back, bouncing and flapping her hands excitedly. “I can’t wait to have class with you again and just be around you in general.”

Luna looked equally excited, which was usually rare for her, but had been more of a common occurrence since she’d been dating Astra. “We might finally get to be on a proper date,” She replied with a grin. “If you want to, that is.”

Watching the two interact brought a smile to Cobalt’s face. He’d enjoy watching their relationship grow and develop over this semester; they were good for each other and he liked seeing Luna so overwhelmingly happy.

After a moment, Astra looked around. “Is Lily not here yet?” She enquired.

“She might be late,” Luna replied, her tone changing suddenly. “Something…interesting happened yesterday.”

Astra’s eyes glowed. “Ooh, in what way?”

“I should let her explain,” Luna looked away. “If she wants to. It’s kind of uh…” She rubbed her neck. “Something that should be kept on the down-low.”

Cobalt’s ears twitched in interest. “Should we be concerned?” The last thing he wanted to assume was that Lily had _done_ something, but Luna’s wording was a little worrying.

Luna shook her head. “No, it’s not really anything to do with her. And I _think_ it’s not anything dangerous.”

Astra raised an eyebrow. “You _think?_ ”

“Agh, I really shouldn’t have said anything…” Luna groaned and flopped back onto her bed, hands on her face.

Astra plopped down beside her. “Aw hey, don’t feel too bad!” She assured her. “I do stuff like that all the time.”

Luna took her hands away and smiled as Astra placed a hand on her shoulder. “Thanks.”

Cobalt turned at the sound of wheels in the hallway to see Lily walk in. Luna and Astra looked at her too. Curiously, she wasn’t wearing her jacket, leaving her arms bare and showing off the scars on her arms that Cobalt has always been too worried to ask about in fear of digging up things Lily didn’t want to get into.

“Hey,” The dark-haired girl greeted them as she pulled her suitcase over to her bed. “What’s up?” She inspected the fern with a frown but said nothing as she began to unpack her suitcase.

Luna sat up to address her. “Is… _she_ okay?”

Cobalt pricked his ears. She? Who was ‘she’? He exchanged a glance with Astra, who shrugged.

Lily cast an uncertain glance at Cobalt and Astra. “Have you told them?’ She asked Luna.

“No,” Luna shook her head. “I figured you should, if you want to.”

Lily sighed. “Well, I guess they have a right to know. But this isn’t something you can tell anyone for the time being.” She fixed her gaze specifically on Astra. “You _need_ to stay quiet about it.”

Astra nodded quickly. “I will, don’t worry.”

“So will I,” Cobalt promised. He closed the dorm door, just in case, and went to sit beside Lily, his interest heightened. “So, what happened?”

Lily rubbed her arm. “I got caught out in yesterday’s storm when I noticed some people fighting nearby,” She began. Cobalt listened intently as she explained how she’d found a badly injured woman in an alleyway and had driven her home instead of to a hospital when the woman had reacted badly to the idea of the latter.

“We were able to get her the help she needed thanks to Jaune, but…” Lily took a deep breath. “She wasn’t just any random stranger. As it turned out, she was none other than Neopolitan.”

Surprise jolted into Cobalt and Astra gasped.

“The criminal? Roman Torchwick’s old henchman?” Cobalt prompted, hoping he was remembering correctly.

“Reformed, it seems,” Lily corrected. “She’d formed a brief alliance with Team RWBY and the others after betraying Cinder, but she vanished after that and a lot of people had assumed she’d been killed or returned to criminal work. But after yesterday, I think it’s safe to say she’s not a bad person.”

“What makes you say that?" Astra asked, leaning as far forward as she could without falling off the bed.

Lily fixed a serious gaze on her. “Because she’s the Ghost.”

Astra gasped again, louder this time, and shock pulsed through Cobalt as he stared at Lily.

“Are you sure?” he asked.

Lily nodded. “She uses her illusion Semblance to cast herself in shadow. That’s how she stays hidden.”

“Wow…” Cobalt felt dumbfounded. It made complete sense. He’d heard about how skilled a fighter Neo had been, and how powerful her Semblance was. “So, all this time, she’s been helping and defending people as a vigilante.”

“That’s awesome…” Astra breathed.

“I don’t think she will be anymore though,” Lily replied. “She almost died yesterday. I guess working alone in the shadows means that nobody has your back. Jaune’s going to talk to the teams about it, to see if they can help her like they’re helping my mom.”

“So, how is she?” Luna asked, repeating her question from earlier. “Will she be okay?”

“She’s still recovering, but I think she’ll be fine soon.” Lily leaned back. ‘It’s been…really weird having someone else in the house, honestly.”

For Cobalt, he couldn’t imagine the _opposite_ , but it made sense that Lily wouldn’t be used to having a stranger around in her own personal home. “Are you okay with it?” He enquired.

“I’m not actually sure how I feel,” Lily admitted. “Even though I know she’s been helping people, I still feel kind of uncomfortable around her. I guess just because she’s someone I only really heard about in regards to how dangerous she was.”

“What’s she _actually_ like?” Astra asked. “Is she nice?”

Lily looked thoughtful. “It hasn’t been too easy to tell. She’s definitely snarky, I can tell that much. And I think she likes me. But she still seems…untrusting,” She added. “Not that I can blame her, of course. I guess she’s been on her own for so long that she’s not used to interacting with people in a way that doesn’t involve fighting with them.”

Cobalt nodded understandingly. If Neo had disappeared before the final battle, that would mean she’d probably spent over twenty years alone; no friends, no allies, nobody to keep her company. It sounded incredibly lonely and it made sense that someone who’d lived that way would have a hard time coming out of the isolation.

“I do know one thing though,” Lily continued. “Talking to my mother always makes her seem more at ease. They’ve been reminiscing while my mother’s been taking care of her. I hear them talking about the old days, when they’d gossip and pull pranks.” She smiled softly. “As weird as her being around is, it’s really nice to see. It’s always just been her and me, but now that I’m here, I think it’ll be good for her to have a friend.”

“That does sound nice,” Cobalt replied. “Nobody should ever be alone if they don’t want to be.” He briefly thought of being without his family or team and the idea pained him. He pushed the thought away. He knew what losing someone felt like. He had no intention of going through that again.

“So, uh,” Astra swung her legs, looking around the room. “Shouldn’t there be some kind of assembly soon?”

Luna jolted slightly. “Oh, right,” She pulled out her scroll. “That should be in…” Her eyes widened. “…Oh shit, five minutes.” She jumped to her feet. “Well, time to start another term, I guess.” She glanced around at the other three. “Are we ready to be educated?”

Astra bounced off the bed and gave Luna’s arm a quick hug. “Always!”

Cobalt grinned. “Hopefully, it won’t be too boring.”

As the team headed out to the assembly building, Cobalt felt a small prick of excitement. The second term, he knew, meant the start of mission for first-years. And outside of that, he was sure there’d be a lot more to experience. Whatever would come, he was interested to see would the months would bring.


	28. Meet the Parents

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A seemingly boring day brings unexpected visitors.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi i almost didn't get this done today rip
> 
> but here it is anyway! not much more exciting than the last one, but at least it's gay

The first day back at school was always fun and exciting, Astra had noted throughout the years. The air was full of anticipation for the months ahead, very little work was ever handed out so that students could ‘adjust’ to being back, and you got to see all the people you knew again.

The second day, however, was a lot more mutinous. The enthusiastic energy faded as everyone settled back into a routine of classes and sleep and the real lessons started up again. So far, today had consisted of a plant sciences class that only Lily had seemed to enjoy, one of Ilia’s more boring history lessons about stuff Astra already knew, and they’d just come back from a Grimm study class on plain old Beowolves.

Astra was, of course, still plenty excited for what the term had to offer, especially with first-year missions coming up soon, but she missed when everyone _else_ had felt the same way. Of course, she had two great friends and a wonderful, lovely, amazing girlfriend to keep her entertained, so who was she to complain?

They were all together outside now, enjoying the sunshine and eating lunch that they’d grabbed from the cafeteria. Astra sat with Luna and was resisting the temptation to lean on her shoulder, worried that she’d make her uncomfortable. Since they’d started dating, they’d spent more time away from each other than they’d actually spent together. It was just too soon.

“I hope Blaze is getting a nice lunch.” Luna sighed.

Astra peered at her curiously. “Your sister? Why’s that?” Luna had mentioned different members of her family multiple times, but it was hard for Astra to remember every detail, as hard as she tried.

“It’s her birthday today,” Luna explained. “Before, we used to both take the day off from school and the whole family would hang out at our house to celebrate.” She gazed sadly at the sandwich she was eating. “She turns sixteen today and it’ll be the first time she’s ever spent it without me.”

Astra hugged her arm comfortingly. “Aw hey, I’m sure she’ll be fine!” She assured her. She’d not grown up with any other family members outside of her mother, so maybe she didn’t fully understand how either Blaze or Luna felt, but she was sure this wasn’t _too_ drastic of a problem.

“Uh hey, Luna?” Cobalt pointed out suddenly, staring at something in the distance. “I don’t think you’ll have to worry too much about it.”

All three of the others followed his gaze to peer across over to other side of the outdoor eating area. Astra and Luna both froze, gasping. Astra had never seen them this close before, but she’d recognize those women instantly, and could guess who the teenager with them was.

She jumped to her feet before even Luna did, hands to her face. “It’s _them_ …” This was incredible. There was no way. She figured she’d have to met Blake and Yang soon, but not _this_ soon. This was all happening so fast. What would they say to her? Did they approve of her relationship with Luna? Did they think she was good enough? Did _she_ think she was good enough??

Luna stood up beside her and waved with one arm to them. “Hey, guys! Over here!”

The figures turned their way and approached. Astra felt herself freezing on the spot. It was _really_ them.

“There you are!” Blake greeted Luna as she came over, the other two close behind her. “It’s been a while since we’ve been over here,” She chuckled. “We got a bit turned around trying to find you.”

Luna wrapped both of her parents in a tight hug, delight clear on her face. “What are you guys doing here?”

“You’d think you hadn’t seen us in weeks,” Yang laughed as she returned the hug.

Blaze popped out from behind her parents to explain to Luna. “You couldn’t stay home for my birthday, so we figured I should come here!”

Astra fixed all of her attention on the younger girl. So, _this_ was Blaze Xiao Long. Already, Astra could tell she was vastly different from her older sister. Taller, for one, even taller than Yang, but also with seemingly none of Luna’s shyness or awkwardness. She also had short-cut blonde hair, in stark contrast with Luna’s long black locks. But that _energy_. This girl was raring to go and looked like she might punch the first thing that came her way if she wasn’t sure whether or not it was an enemy. Astra liked her already.

Luna looked thrilled. “That’s amazing!” She gave her sister a quick hug, but concern fluttered across her face for a moment as she pulled back. “Wait, is this allowed?”

Yang waved her hand. “Don’t worry about it,” She assured her. “Coco owed us a favour, figured today would be a good day to cash it in.”

Astra suddenly couldn’t believe she’d never taken the change to ask the vice-headmistress about her experiences with teams RWBY and JNR. She’d have to do that later.

Blake turned to Cobalt and Lily. “It’s good to see you again, Cobalt.” She said warmly. “How is everyone?”

Cobalt beamed at her. “We’re doing pretty good. Business has been great lately.” He glanced down at his suit, which had been newly remodeled over the holidays. “My mother helped me make some adjustments to my armor; what do you guys think?”

Astra was amazed that he could just ask the opinion of these legends so confidently, but then, he’d probably known them since he was a little kid.

Yang looked thoughtful. “More cover in your vulnerable areas, that’s good,” She noted. “And have you re-enforced that stitching on the leather?”

Cobalt nodded, clearly trying to hide his pride at her approval.

Blake glanced at Lily. “How’s your mother doing?” She asked, her tone gentler this time. Astra could tell she wanted to ask about Neo too, but figured she was holding back saying so out loud.

Lily looked much, much more reserved than Cobalt did as she answered. “She’s doing okay. Still working overtime, but she’ll be working on lowering her hours as soon as she gets her Huntress license.” She glanced quickly at Astra and Cobalt. “And Neo’s doing okay too.” At Blake’s brief look of concern, she quickly added, “Don’t worry, they know. They’re not going to tell anyone.”

Blake nodded acceptingly. “That’s good to hear. I’m glad they’re both okay.” Her yellow gaze turned to Astra, and Yang looked at her too, interest clear on both women’s faces.

“And you must be Astra, right?” Blake asked inquisitively. “it’s good to finally meet you.”

“Right,” Yang chuckled. “Luna seems to text you more than anyone else. You are her partner, I suppose. The connection there can often be…” She glanced at Blake and winked briefly, inciting a smile from her wife. “…Special.”

Astra felt rooted to the spot. What did she say? What _could_ she say that wouldn’t sound dumb? Why was she so much more _nervous_ than she thought she’d be? Was it because these were now not only two of Remnant’s biggest heroes, but also her girlfriend’s parents? And wait…why had Yang only mentioned that she and Luna were partners?

“Um, it’s really nice to finally meet you guys!” She managed, forcing her worries down. “I’ve always been such a big fan of your work, especially now that-”

Before she could finish, Luna grabbed her arm. “I just remembered I needed to talk to Astra about an assignment I’ve got coming up!” She sputtered as Astra stared at her. “Can you guys give us a sec? You can uh…talk to Lily more about Emerald and Neo.”

She pulled Astra a short distance away, far enough that Astra couldn’t make out what Blake and Yang were now saying to Lily as Blaze bounced beside them.

She stared at Luna in confusion. “So, uh…what was that about? _Do_ we have an assignment?" She hoped not, because she certainly couldn’t remember being given one. She _had_ to start paying more attention in class…

Luna looked slightly stressed. “No, it’s just…” She took a deep breath, her hands on her temples and shame on her face. “I haven’t exactly…told them…” She avoided Astra’s gaze. “…About us.”

Astra blinked for a moment before it clicked. “Ooooohhh,” She realized. “Because of my mother, right?” She nodded. “I guess that makes sense, I know she was never very…sensitive with either of them.” She chuckled sheepishly.

Luna stared at her, guilt still swimming in those beautiful lavender eyes. “You’re not…upset about it?”

Astra’s eyes widened. “Of course not, why would I be?”

Luna looked away again. “I didn’t want you to think I was ashamed of you…”

Astra pulled her into a hug before she could say anything else. “Hey, I don’t think that.” She assured her. “And even if you were, I wouldn’t blame you. But it’s totally cool that you’re not ready to admit that you’re dating the daughter of _Neon Katt_.”

Luna sighed as Astra pulled away. “I will tell them though, at some point,” She replied. “I promise.”

“Don’t rush yourself,” Astra told her softly. “You’ll tell them when you’re ready. Until then, I won’t say a word.” She grabbed Luna’s hand and squeezed it softly before letting go again.

The two headed back to the others, where Lily was still talking to Yang and Blake.

“…She’s just really unsure about it all.” Lily was saying.

“Hey, that’s okay,” Blake replied kindly. “She’s bound to be after what she’s been through, but that’s what we’re here to help her with.”

“And I can teach her anything she needs to know to control her Maiden powers.” Yang added, flaring up her eyes for emphasis.

Astra stared at the purple flames in awe. Never before had she seen Maiden powers up close, and even though Yang wasn’t technically using them right now, she could only imagine the sheer power she held. Amazing. It was increasingly easy to see how this woman had helped save Remnant from Salem and her evil forces.

Yang turned to her and Luna. “You’re back!” She greeted them cheerily. “Figure out your assignment?” Was that a teasing note in her voice, or was Astra imagining it?”

“Uhh yep!” She replied, forcing confidence. “I’d uh…forgotten about it,” She lied. “Good thing Luna reminded me.”

“She’s always forgetting,” Luna added. “So, I figured I’d remind her the moment it popped into my head. So, anyway,” She turned to Blaze and grinned as she changed the subject. “Do you want us to show you around? A special birthday tour?”

Blaze’s eyes lit up and Astra could’ve sworn they sparked with red. “Absolutely!” The young girl exclaimed, a wide grin on her face that flashed pointy canines.

With a small chuckle, Luna led the way as the group followed her around the school grounds. The whole time, Blaze stared around with amazement that reminded Astra of her own first experience with Beacon, but much more raw. She seemed especially excited when the team showed her the sparring grounds, both indoor and outdoor, and Astra noticed that the ground became warmer everywhere the blonde-haired girl stepped. She remembered Luna mentioning that Blaze’s Semblance was the ability to heat things up, and that she’d set multiple things of fire, multiple times. This kid was going to wreak havoc on the battlefield, Astra was very sure of that.

She found herself very grateful for the family’s arrival. This was the energy she’d been looking for; this was the kind of unexpected thing she’d found herself hoping for every day. Sure, Blake and Yang, especially yang, were very intimidating and Astra had no idea what they thought of her, but all the same, she was glad to check them off her list at the end of the day. A few legends down, many more to go.


	29. History Lesson

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An important history lesson with a special guest speaker takes place.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi it's exposition time

History lessons with Ilia were like a mixed bag, but one that was mostly full of good stuff, with just a few more boring things as well. With the family she had, Luna already knew most of what was being taught, but it was mostly still interesting to hear the way Ilia told things, especially when it came to things she herself had been involved in. On occasion though, Luna found herself zoning out of the more boring lessons, especially if Astra was next to her being cute. Thankfully though, Ilia never seemed to mind unless it was something she wanted Luna to pay attention to. All the same, Luna hoped today’s lesson would be one of the more interesting ones.

She settled in the benches between Astra and Cobalt and waited expectantly for Ilia to begin the lesson. Beside her, Astra wiggled excitedly, and Luna found it adorable that she always got so excited for lessons even though she found more of them boring than Luna did.

“All right everyone,” Ilia began as the class quietened. “Today, we’ll be focusing on an important piece of more recent history, something that took place only around twenty years ago.” Her pale gaze swept around the room. “You must all be aware of the war against Salem, but how many of you are aware of the aftermath, and what took place after she was defeated?”

Most hands in the room rose, including Luna’s and Cobalt’s, though Ilia already knew that they were fully aware.

Ilia nodded as she took in the information. “As I figured. However,” She gave a slight smile. “I doubt that most of you will have heard it from someone who was actually there.”

Astra sat up straighter with a slight gasp of excitement, and Luna smiled at her. She had a feeling she’d enjoy this. Ilia had fought alongside Luna’s parents in the war and had indeed been present after the war had ended and the relics had been gathered for their intended purpose.

“There have been many tales and legends in the past about various Gods and other mythical figures in the world of Remnant,” Ilia stated. “However, after the final battle was fought and the four relics from each academy had been used, it was revealed to the world that the two creator Gods, the Brothers of Dark and Light, actually existed, and were indeed responsible for Remnant’s creation. Despite this, there is a very reasonable argument to be made that they were also responsible for its near-destruction at the hands of Salem and the Grimm. Can anyone explain why?”

Luna smiled at Astra as she raised her hand excitedly, bouncing in her seat.

Ilia glanced at Astra. “Miss Katt, you seem enthusiastic as always. Can you explain?”

Astra’s hand shot down again. “The Brothers were the ones who cursed Salem with her immortality and prompted her vengeance on them and all of their creations,” She announced proudly. “Oh, and the Brother of Darkness created like…all of the original Grimm.”

Ilia nodded approvingly. “Very good. It was also the Gods who set Ozma, who you all may know better as Professor Ozpin, on the impossible task of fully uniting humanity, and threatened to destroy all of Remnant once and for all if he did not.”

Luna already knew this, but she narrowed her eyes. She’d never been a fan of Ozpin, given what she’d been told of him constantly hiding things and putting everyone in danger as a result, but for the God of Light to place the fate of Remnant on his shoulders alone had been totally unfair and cruel.

“The Gods were far from the benevolent creators they seemed to be,” Ilia continued. “Even though many people still preach them as being so. When we summoned them back to Remnant and they saw that humanity was still in disarray and disagreement over various issues, they were frustrated, and intended to destroy the entire world, once and for all.”

A few small gasps and mutters rose from the class; clearly, not all of them had known of the Gods’ cruelty, or at least not the full extent of it. It annoyed Luna that some people still worshipped the Gods without having any idea of what they were really like. Some people were just too stubborn to let go of their disillusions, and Luna was grateful that people like Ilia existed to teach the truth of what the Gods were really like. She had a feeling that it was not the case in every school, especially given that Storm and even Astra looked surprised to learn that the Gods had nearly ended their world’s existence before they’d even been born. What _did_ they teach kids in Atlas, if not stuff as important as this?

Ilia kept going. “Thankfully,” She explained, “One person had the courage to stand up and defy them. And what she said that day was something important that not everyone knows, but everyone should. It was a lesson that took me and so many others many years to learn. And so,” She moved from where she stood beside her desk and began to move towards the door at the side of the room. “I think it’s only right that I let her explain it to you all herself.”

She opened the door, and someone Luna knew all too well walked into the room, greeting the class with a small, slightly awkward wave. Beside Luna, Astra squeaked and almost fell out of her chair, and many other students drew awed gasps.

But Luna just smiled softly and was pleasantly surprised to see her aunt. Ruby Rose, baker of amazing cookies and giver of the gentlest hugs. As she stood beside Ilia, a loose braid of black and red-streaked hair over her shoulder and hands clasped in front of her, she was not the legendary silver-eyed warrior to Luna. She was simply her slightly socially-awkward, kind, creative, and wonderful aunt.

“Uh, hi everyone!” Ruby greeted. “It’s been a while since I’ve been here, but I’m glad to be able to have this chance to say what I’ve come here to tell you. Ilia was right- this lesson is something everyone needs to know, whether you’re a huntsman or not.”

Her voice rose as she spoke and Luna watched as her leader-quality confidence took over her initial awkwardness.

“When the Gods threatened to destroy us for not existing in the perfect image they wanted us to, I stood against them.” Ruby continued. “I demanded to know why they’d bothered giving us free will if they only wanted us to obey their orders and their rule. I told them that it was cruel of them to create us as beings that could choose our own path, only to lay one out for us anyway and expect us to follow it without complaint. That’s an important thing to remember, but it is not the main thing you all need to know.”

She fixed her silver gaze on the class, who were dead silent now, fully focused on Ruby as she spoke, their attention captured. Luna had always marveled at the way Ruby could catch the focus of everyone in a room with just a few sentences. She longed for the same ability, though she wasn’t sure if she’d be able to handle so many people staring at her.

“The fact of the matter is,” Ruby stated, “The world will never be fully united. No matter what the topic, there will always be people who will stand against something, whether it’s because they truly believe in what they’re doing, or whether they want to disagree out of pure spite.”

Thinking of Birch and Rowan, Luna found herself nodding. Even today, even after Salem was defeated, the world was still full of bigotry and discrimination, and she knew it could never fully go away.

“This world is dark and dangerous,” Ruby spoke seriously, her tone low. “There will always be monsters, whether it’s the creatures of Grimm or small-minded people who will try their hardest to wipe the world of people they disagree with. But that’s why we’re here. Not just Huntresses, but humanity in general. No matter what we choose to do with our lives, we can always choose to make the world better, and we _can_ do that. We _should_ do that. Inaction can be as bad and harmful as direct attacks.”

A couple of seats away, Luna saw Storm look down, only for Cobalt, who was sitting beside him, to place a hand on their shoulder. No words were spoken, but Luna could tell what her friend was communicating to the other student. Yes, they’d taken the path of inaction before, but they were working on that, and doing well, from what Luna had heard.

“I told this to the Gods,” Ruby continued. “I explained to them that their vision was impossible, that it was unfair to expect such a task of us when the two of them could not even see eye-to-eye themselves. If they could not stay united, they could not expect us to. And just because not everyone in the world can unite for or against one cause, it’s good enough that even a few of us can. All of my allies stood with me as I spoke, and each of us had been fully dedicated to our cause. And when they started to speak up as well, we were finally able to get through to them.”

Beside her, Ilia nodded. “I can take it from here. Thank you, Ruby.” As Ruby stepped back, Ilia continued the story.

“The Gods relented and agreed to leave us be, on two conditions, one from each of them. The God of Darkness insisted that his creations, the creatures of Grimm, had to stay on Remnant. He believed that, if his brother’s creations, the plants, and animals, were to remain, then his must too, to provide an ongoing challenge for humanity. And the God of Light made it clear that, if they were to leave again, they were never to come back, and that humanity would have to survive completely without their guidance. He told us that there would be no changing of minds.”

“And good riddance!” Astra shouted, prompting chuckles from the class and even Ruby.

Ilia didn’t laugh, but couldn’t resist a smile. “Yes,” She confirmed. “We knew we didn’t need the Gods. We had survived without them for long enough, and we will continue to survive in their permanent absence.”

The lesson continued, with Ilia and Ruby taking turns to explain how people had recovered and moved on from the effects of the final battle. Luna’s mind remained fixed on Ruby’s speech. She’d heard it many times, but it hit her deeply every time. Even as a kid, Ruby had always had faith that she could make the world a better place, and in the end, she had, probably more than she’d expected to. But Luna couldn’t hold that sentiment. She knew she was a good fighter and she knew she had an amazing team. But there was still so much evil in the world, still so much to fight. And she didn’t have silver eyes like Ruby, or Maiden powers like Yang, or even a Semblance that would be helpful in battle. In the grand scheme of things, what could she do? Fight off a few Grimm? Catch a couple of criminals?

She forced away the feelings as Astra seemed to notice her fallen mood and asked if she was okay. Now wasn’t the time to share these doubts, when Ruby had just been so uplifting and hope-inspiring. For now, Luna would have to deal with them on their own.


	30. A Step Forward

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After properly meeting Ruby Rose, Lily has an unexpected talk with the legendary hero.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> we get this one a bit earlier!! why, you ask? well...because i finished the very last part of my university coursework! so i've got the next few months free to write as much renewal as i wish~ look forward to it!

Lily’s mind remained at the start of the lesson even as she started to follow her team out of the room. Her mother had told her the story too, given that she’d been there as well, but she’d never heard about Ruby’s speech in so much detail. It sounded moving, and it was both easy and amazing to see how the woman had managed to talk down two literal gods when she’d only been a teenager of Lily’s own age. She couldn’t imagine doing the same thing herself.

In front of her, Astra was babbling on in awe, as expected. Luna was holding her hand and gazing at her affectionately, but something seemed off to Lily. Luna seemed quiet, quieter than usual, like there was a weight on her shoulders. She almost reached out to ask her what was going on, when a voice stopped the team in their tracks.

“Hey, hold up!”

Lily turned to see Ruby following them in the hallway, greeting them with a friendly wave. Lily shifted uncomfortably for a moment, before realizing Ruby was specifically addressing Luna.

The woman outstretched her arms as she looked at Luna. “No ‘hello’ hug?”

Luna smiled and walked over to embrace her aunt. “Sorry,” she apologized sheepishly. “I got lost in thought.”

Ruby chuckled and ruffled her niece’s her. “I suppose I can’t say it doesn’t happen to me all the time,” She looked past Luna at the other three teenagers. “So, this is the great team LLAC, huh?”

Cobalt waved at her cheerily. “Hey, Ruby.”

Ruby grinned at him. “Good to see you, Cobalt.” Her silver gaze flicked to Astra. “I don’t believe we’ve met, but I can certainly guess who you are.”

Astra was almost literally shaking as she stared at Ruby. “Yeah!” her voice came out as a squeak. “I’m Astra Katt.”

Ruby nodded. “I can tell, you look a lot like her.” She gave a short chuckle. “I suppose you get that a lot though, huh?” She glanced back and forth between Astra and Luna. “So…do your parents know about you two?”

Lily suppressed a laugh as Astra and Luna exchanged awkwardly alarmed looks.

Astra stared at Ruby, her green eyes wide enough that you could see the pink ring around her pupils without having to look too hard. “How could you tell?”

Ruby crossed her arms jokingly. “I have two wives,” She pointed out. “I know romance when I see it.”

Luna looked at the ground and shuffled a foot. “Astra’s mother knows, but mine don’t yet. You know…history and all.”

Lily stared at them in surprise, not having realized that Luna was keeping their relationship a secret. She’d always imagined that Luna was the type to tell her parents everything, but then again, every child kept secrets from their parents at some point or another. It suddenly made sense that Luna had dragged Astra away to talk with her the other day.

Ruby’s expression changed to a more comforting one. “Hey, I’m sure they’ll be fine with it,” She assured Luna. “Yang and Neon may not have always gotten along, but they still had a respect for one another. In fact, last time they talked that I’m aware of, they’d both mellowed out enough to be perfectly fine talking to each other.”

Luna sighed. “Yeah, you’re probably right. I will tell them soon, just…at the right time.”

Ruby gave her a pat on the head, something Lily had a feeling few else would be able to get away with. “You’ll be okay, don’t worry.” Finally, she turned to Lily. “You’re Lily, right?”

Suddenly intimidated and trying not to look away, Lily nodded.

Ruby offered her a smile. “I saw you as the meeting was wrapping up, but we never got to talk.” Her next words surprised Lily. “I’d like to do that now, actually.”

Lily blinked at her. “Uh...about what?”

Ruby gave a small laugh. “Nothing scary, don’t worry. I just wanted to get your view on everything.” She smiled at Lily. “You’re as much a part of this as anyone else. Your feelings matter.”

Lily felt herself relax slightly. Nobody had ever told her that before. “Oh…well, where did you want to talk, then?”

Ruby looked thoughtful. “Right. I guess we can’t really do it right here in the hallway.”

Astra perked up. “Oh, I can probably get Ilia to let you borrow the classroom!” She chirped, before grinning. “I need to talk to her about something anyway.”

Luna peered at her inquisitively. “Did you finally get your mother to ask her out?”

Astra nodded enthusiastically. “Yep. And it’s _tonight_. I think it’s only fair that I prepare her.”

Ruby nodded, clearly hiding a chuckle. “That works then.” As the group turned to head back into the classroom, Lily heard the woman whisper to Astra, “Remind me to get your scroll contact later. I want to hear all about this date.” Lily could practically hear Astra’s internal screaming.

After Astra ushered Ilia out of the classroom and Ruby and Lily were left alone, Ruby sat herself down on top of Ilia’s desk and patted the spot next to her. Hesitantly, Lily sat down. Ruby seemed lovely, but she couldn’t help but be nervous around the woman who’d lead the final battle against Salem and literally saved the world.

“So then,” Ruby began. “I guess you know the basics of what we talked about?”

Lily nodded. Her mother had given her a rough recap when they’d gotten home that day. “You guys are going to help her to get an official huntsman license so that she can earn a better income.”

“That’s part of the reason,” Ruby replied. “But she also agreed to do it so that she can make a better name for the two of you. Apparently, she got the idea from you.”

Lily glanced at her in surprise. “Yeah, I…I joined Beacon to prove to people that I wasn’t the criminal they think I am.”

Ruby nodded slowly, having to look slightly up at her, sympathy in her eyes. “Emerald told me about how people still treat the two of you. I can’t express how sorry I am for that. If we’d had any idea, I promise we would have done so much more to help you.”

Lily looked away. “It’s…not entirely your fault.” She wished she’d realized that earlier. “She never told you guys about me and she didn’t want to accept any more help.”

“Yes, she told us that,” Ruby affirmed. “But I can’t exactly blame her. It was guilt keeping her from asking for help, not pride. We should have done more to make ourselves more approachable, and make sure she knew that none of us held anything against her.”

Lily didn’t reply, thinking it over. Maybe it had been guilt, but that still didn’t make it RWBY’s fault, either. Maybe this was all just the product of everyone feeling too bad to reach out.

“She was incredible, you know.” Ruby’s words took Lily by surprise, and she looked back at her.

“After she changed sides, I mean.” Ruby clarified. “She was a good fighter before then, of course, but what I mean is that…” She hesitated, seemingly trying to fight the right words. “She was incredibly strong. It took a lot of bravery for her and Mercury to leave Salem’s faction, and even more for them to fight against her. And then, even after Mercury was killed in the final battle, Emerald fought even harder. Killing Cinder wasn’t easy for her, not just because Cinder was a powerful fighter, but because Emerald had looked up to her as a parental figure at one point. And she did it anyway.” Her gaze was distant, as if she was remembering the event. “She was the most powerful ally we had, in a way. The one person Cinder thought she had completely wrapped around her finger being the one to betray her is what took her down. She never saw it coming.”

Lily blinked slowly. Never before had she heard her mother described in such a way. There was something deeply comforting about it, especially when it came from Ruby. “I know she’s helped a lot of people,” She replied. “But, in her mind, she hurt a lot of people too. She’s…not really sure if she’s ready to fight again.”

“I know,” Ruby told her softly. “And if she changes her mind about it, she’s welcome to. We won’t pressure her into anything. But we’re also here to help her if and when she needs it. And I think you can be, too.”

Lily glanced at her. “Me?”

“Emerald cares about you more than anyone,” Ruby reminded her. “And if she’s anything like me when it comes to motherhood, she’ll appreciate anything her daughter has to say. If you want her to know something, she’ll listen when you tell her. Your words might even encourage her.”

Lily though about how her mother had apparently been inspired by her own actions to become an official huntress. Maybe Ruby had a point. She had full intentions to be there for her mother regardless, but perhaps being more open and honest would help as well. She nodded. “Okay. I’ll do what I can.”

Ruby was silent for a moment, looking thoughtful. “Your scroll doesn’t have a videochat function, does it?” She asked eventually.

Lily guessed Emerald had mentioned the fact during the meeting. She shook her head. “We’ve never really been able to afford anything better.”

“Well,” Ruby replied briskly. “We’ll have to fix that. I’ll talk to Weiss and sort out getting you a more recent model.”

Lily stared at her, taken aback. “You really don’t need to-”

Ruby held up a hand to cut her off. “Don’t try to argue,” She insisted warmly. “We have the money; it’s no problem. Besides, you deserve to be able to talk to your mother face-to-face without having to go into town or to the library.”

Lily felt awed by her kindness. She’d heard of it, of course, and it wasn’t that she hadn’t believed it, but it would still take some time to adjust to people being nice to _her_. First her team, and now this. “I…thank you, Mrs. Rose.”

Ruby chuckled. “Hey, call me Ruby. You’ll make me feel old otherwise.”

Her friendliness caught on, and Lily smiled back at her. “Right. I’ll keep that in mind.”

“Now,” Ruby hopped off the desk. “I don’t know about you, but I’d love to go and watch your teammates pester Ilia about her date. Care to join me?”

Lily chuckled, already picturing Astra out with a whiteboard and charts to prepare Ilia for dating Neon. “Sounds good.”


	31. Team BLCD

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After intending to eat alone, Cobalt makes some unexpected new friends.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> today we meet a very special team!! why are they special? because it's literally me and my friends :) more specifically, my rwbysona, a friend's rwbysona, and the rwby ocs of two more friends.
> 
> blaire belongs to me, lycoris belongs to @/Riggy_Minus, ceionn belongs to @/crescentqmoon, and dusk belongs to @/pkspsapphire! they are all very dear to me and i love them and you guys should go check them out on twitter and anywhere else they happen to have an account!! including here!!
> 
> also they all gave permission for their ocs to be featured!

The cafeteria always seemed louder when Cobalt was in there alone. Normally, he’d eat with his team, either in the dorm, outside or in the cafeteria, but today, the girls had elected to stay in the dorm and watch Astra’s new favourite cartoon. Cobalt had considered joining them until Astra and Luna had started getting overly cute again, and he’d elected to sneak away and leave poor Lily alone with them.

Admittedly, in the couple of weeks since second term had started, Astra and Luna’s overwhelming sweetness had calmed, giggling a lot less, though they still held hands at any time possible. All the same, Cobalt still couldn’t help but be a little uncomfortable around them when they got too excited about it. Though he wouldn’t admit it out loud, a big part of Cobalt knew it was jealousy. Not of either of the girls, of course, but that they could have a relationship when he couldn’t. Not yet at least.

Lost in thought and looking down at his food tray, Cobalt didn’t realize that the path in front of him was not clear. At least, not until he bumped into someone, almost knocking over his glass of water.

“Hm?” The other figure turned to look at him as he backed up.

“I’m so sorry!” Cobalt blurted, shame making his ears droop. “I wasn’t paying attention to where I was going.”

The person he’d bumped into looked up at him, blinking with blue-gray eyes, before her face split into a grin. “Oh hey, don’t worry about it! Happens to me all the time. Are you okay?”

Though she’d reacted in a rather friendly way, Cobalt’s shame grew when he looked her up and down and realized who she was. Blaire Arylide, third-year student and leader of Team BLCD (blackbird)- one of the most impressive teams currently attending Beacon. Even back at Signal, Cobalt had heard of them. Jaune had even mentioned them a couple of times while Cobalt had been over at Luna’s house. Cobalt had always gotten the impression that they’d been an awful lot like Team CFVY, if CFVY had stayed at Beacon long enough to be third-years there, and he’d been proven right. He’d never interacted with any of the team’s members though, and _this_ was how he met one of them for the first time. Their leader, no less.

“Uh- yeah I’m fine,” he managed. “Sorry.”

Blaire chuckled. “You already said that.”

Cobalt’s ears dropped lower. “Right. Sorry.” _Holy shit._ He cursed himself inside his head. _You sound like Luna. What ever happened to being cool? You’re supposed to be cool!_

Blaire didn’t seem to mind, her eyes sparkling with amusement. “You remind me a lot of myself,” She commented. “I can appreciate that.” She squinted through rectangular glasses. “You’re Cobalt Scaraltina right? Of Team LLAC?”

Cobalt’s ears pricked. Somehow, the idea that she saw herself in him was a comfort. “Oh…you know us?”

“Yeah, of course!” Blaire replied. “Your family names are pretty well-known, you know.”

“Oh, right.” Cobalt tried not to feel disappointed. Of course it was just because of their parents. Why wouldn’t it be?”

“Mind you,” Blaire continued, catching Cobalt’s attention again. “You guys pack a pretty good punch on the battlefield.” She grinned, showing off slightly-pointed canines. “Hearing about the way that Astra kid beat up a bigot in sparring class was a treat, I’ll tell you that.”

Cobalt smiled in relief. So they had built a bit of a reputation, then. “Thanks,” he replied. “It was admittedly pretty fun to watch.”

“I’ll bet,” Blaire cracked her knuckles. “Wish I’d been there. Heh, I might’ve helped.”

Cobalt found himself relaxing, adjusting into his cool-minded state again. It was good to know that Blaire wasn’t all as intimidating as he thought she’d be. Then again, realizing how short she was now that he was standing face-to-face with her and having to look down also helped.

Blaire glanced around. “So, where’s your team? Not hungry?”

“Oh, they stayed back in the dorm to watch a show,” Cobalt responded, shrugging. “Just me today.”

Blaire looked thoughtful. “Why don’t you come and sit with us?”

They invitation surprised Cobalt. Two years ahead, and she wanted _him_ to sit with her team? “Are you sure?” he asked hesitantly. “Won’t they mind?”

Blaire shrugged. “It’ll be fine. Besides, nobody should have to sit alone for lunch.”

Cobalt didn’t bother telling her that he didn’t actually mind sitting alone if he had to. He relented. “Well, okay then.”

Blaire smiled. “Great!” She led him over to a nearby table, where three other students were seated. Cobalt recognized the other three members of team BLCD; Lycoris Asano, Ceionn Vernell, and Dusk Haas-Faullen, and he found himself feeling slightly intimidated again.

“Hey nerds,” Blaire greeted them as she sat beside Lycoris. “I’ve brought us a friend.”

Cobalt seated himself, placing his tray down, thrusting away his nervousness as three pairs of eyes turned on him. Eyes that had seen and experienced an awful lot more than him. These students had been on _missions_. He, on the other hand, had barely killed a few Grimm before.

Ceionn’s eyes glowed. “Ooh, lovely!” She chirped. “We haven’t had fresh meat sit with us in a while.”

Cobalt tried not to sweat. _Fresh meat?_

Dusk nudged Ceionn with one elbow. “Don’t call him that,” They scolded. “You’ll make the poor kid nervous.”

 _Well, at least they can’t see that I already am._ Cobalt thought privately.

Lycoris offered him a friendly smile. “You’re Cobalt, right? Of Team LLAC?”

Cobalt managed to nod. “That’s right.”

“Ooh,” Ceionn leaned forward. “You guys are the ones those little bitches Rowan and Birch keep trying to beef with.” She leaned back again. “Goodness, those two are a nightmare. Kudos to you for putting up with them.”

“Oh hey, Ceionn,” Blaire tossed something into the air. “Catch.”

Ceionn gasped in delight as she caught the small object. “Ooh! Tiny muffin!”

“Hey,” Lycoris gave Blaire a mock-frown. “You didn’t get _me_ a tiny muffin.”

“That’s because you stole the one I had yesterday,” Blaire shot back. “No muffins until you pay for your sins.”

Lycoris responded by flicking a pea into her leader’s face. Blaire threw back a piece of bread, which Lycoris dodged.

“Come on, guys,” Dusk protested quietly. “You’ll get us in trouble.”

Blaire looked at them teasingly. “You upset because _I_ didn’t get you a muffin either?”

Dusk flicked an ear, their expression not changing. “I might be.”

Blaire sighed. “Fine. I’ll go get you all muffins.” She stood up. “You guys had better be grateful you have such a selfless and giving leader.” She glanced at Cobalt. “Do you want a muffin?”

“No, that’s okay.” Cobalt replied politely. His mother had always told him to turn down offers of food if he didn’t know whether or not they could afford it.

Blaire shrugged. “You’re getting one anyway. See you guys in a sec!” she hurried away before Cobalt could protest.

The eyes of the other three turned on him again.

“So Cobalt,” Ceionn leaned their chin on their hands and stared at him expectantly. “Have Birch and Aster learned to leave you guys alone yet?”

“Oh, uh,” Cobalt wasn’t expecting the question. “I’m not sure,” He admitted. “They might have? But it’s hard to tell with them.”

Lycoris gave a light huff. “Hopefully, they have. It even took us a while to get rid of them.”

Cobalt pricked his ears. “You’ve dealt with them before?” His team, he could understand them picking on, but surely they’d have known better than to do it to a team two years older?

Lycoris nodded solemnly. “Dusk and I have, specifically.”

Cobalt drew the connection, taking note of Lyrcois’ pretty blue snake scales and Dusk’s wolf ears. “Oh…I’m really sorry about that.”

Lyrcoris shrugged. “Don’t worry about it. We gave ‘em a lesson they wouldn’t forget.” She grinned at Dusk. “Didn’t we, Dusk?”

Dusk smirked. “Mmhm.”

“Man, I wish I’d been there when it happened,” Ceionn sighed. She slammed her first into her palm. “I’d have loved to dish out some black eyes.”

Dusk gave her a pat on the shoulder. “I’m sure you’ll get your chance, Cei.”

Lycoris glanced away from the table. Following her gaze, Cobalt’s ears pricked as he realized she was looking over at Storm and Yarrow, who were seated further away.

“At least those two seem to have a good head on their shoulders.” Lycoris commented.

Ceionn leaned over to look past Cobalt at the other two students. “Hm? Oh yeah, they’re chill. I see that Storm kid in the library a lot, studying faunus stuff. They seem sweet.”

“They are.” Cobalt hadn’t realized he’d spoken with such wistfulness until he turned back away and saw the three older teens staring at him.

Dusk smirked gently. “Something on your mind there, kid?”

Cobalt tried not to blush, searching his mind for how to respond. “Um.”

“Aww,” Lycoris squished her cheeks with her palms. “I haven’t seen someone look so longing since Blaire had a crush on-” She was interrupted by a small muffin hitting the side of her head and falling onto the table.

“’Ey!” Blaire scolded as she approached the table again. “We don’t talk about that.” She sat down and handed Dusk their muffin, before passing another to Cobalt. “Now,” She pulled her seat in and peered expectantly at the other students. “Why are we talking about crushes?”

Ceionn grinned. “Seems like Cobalt here has one on Storm Hunter.”

Blaire glanced at him, a teasing glint in her eyes. “Is that so? Well, they do seem nice.” She sipped at her juice.

Cobalt shifted uncomfortably, deciding he’d have to open up to these older teenagers that he barely knew. “It’s…a bit more complicated than that.”

Dusk lifted an eyebrow, suddenly seeming interested. “Oh?”

“We went on a date last term,” Cobalt explained, “But I ended it after it turned out they still had some prejudice against faunus left over from their upbringing in Atlas.” The memory hurt to think of.

All four of the team narrowed their eyes, and Cobalt quickly continued before they got too bad an impression of Storm.

“They learned from it, though. I don’t think they’d ever been called out on it before,” He admitted. “So, after everything happened, they started researching faunus rights in an effort to become a better person.” He couldn’t help but look over his shoulder at Storm again. “They’ve been trying really hard, and they’ve learned a lot.”

He sighed, turning back. “They’ve told me they’re not doing it to get me back, but...I’d still like to give things another shot one day.” This was his first time telling anyone else this. “I just…don’t know when.”

“Aw,” Lycoris commented. “Well, at least they’re trying. That’s a start.”

Blaire nodded. “I can’t say I’ve ever dealt with that exact situation before, but I’ve had friends turn out to be assholes. Most of them didn’t learn from their mistakes though, so it’s good Storm has. It’s rare to see these days.”

“I can see why you’re still hesitant though,” Ceionn added. “I would be too.”

Cobalt picked at his muffin. “I think…I’m just waiting for something.” He admitted. “Something to show me that they’ve changed for good.”

“I hope you get whatever you’re waiting for,” Blaire told him kindly. “I know I don’t know anything about either of you, but I like seeing things end happily.”

Cobalt turned back and gazed at Storm again. This time, Storm actually noticed, looking up and giving him a shy wave. Cobalt smiled. “Yeah. I hope so.”


	32. Comforts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Astra asks a question that sends her into a spiral of anxiety.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WHOOOO EARLY CHAPTER

Astra had a lot of comforts. Mostly, they came from her stuffed animals.

She had a favourite, a stuffed bear. Or, rather, it was a small blanket that had the arms and head of a stuffed bear attached. She’d had it since she was just a baby and would carry it around with her as a kid. Even now, it was tucked away in her bedsheets, unknown to her team, and she held it close every night as she slept. The most comforting thing about the blanket-bear was the wide, golden silk trim it had all around the edges of the blanket part. It was always cool to the touch, and to grasp it and run it through her fingers until it went warm was one of the most satisfying, comforting, and blissful sensations to Astra.

And yet, it now compared nothing to the feel of Luna’s hand in hers. Luna’s hand was small and soft, and Astra could wrap her own around it perfectly. She could think of no bigger comfort than knowing her girlfriend was there next to her and close to her. The idea that they could just coexist, without even needing to say a word, was amazing. The whole time they’d been sitting there, watching another cartoon Astra liked, she’d barely paid any attention to the show. All of her attention had been on Luna, hoping she’d like it. And thankfully, she’d enjoyed it quite well, unless her enthusiasm was faked for Astra’s sake. Which Astra wouldn’t have minded; the idea was sweet, but she still hoped she liked it anyway.

Unfortunately, time always got in the way of everything.

Luna switched the tv off with a sigh. “Lunch break’s almost over,” She pointed out. “We should get ready to go back out to class.”

Lily, who’d been quietly watching from her own bunk, frowned. “Aw, I was actually really liking that. It had a nice charm to it.”

Astra blinked at her, surprised; Lily was often more neutral on the kinds of shows Astra enjoyed, preferring more serious stories.

“We can get back to it once classes are over,” Luna assured her. “And then we’ll have the whole weekend to finish it if you guys want.”

Lily perked up. “Yeah, alright. That could be fun.”

It sounded good to Astra too. A whole weekend, watching cartoons with Luna. And yet, she couldn’t help longing for something _else_. Something that they could enjoy alone together, away from the stresses of school. An idea popped into her mind.

As Luna stood up to leave the room, Astra tugged her back a little.

“Hey, can I ask you something first?”

Luna glanced back at her. “Is everything okay?”

“Yeah, it’s fine, I just um…” Astra’s mind raced. Why was she panicking? “I thought maybe you’d like to…” No, that sounded dumb. “I wanted to know if…um…” That wasn’t right either. She took a deep breath and asserted herself, deciding to be upfront with it. “I want to take you out. On a date. Tonight. A real date.”

Luna smiled softly as her cheeks flushed pink. “Really? Like, to a restaurant?”

Astra nodded quickly. “Unless there’s somewhere else you want to go?”

Luna’s smile deepened. “A restaurant sounds great,” She assured her. “I’d love to go out tonight.”

Astra grinned. “So…after class, then?”

Luna nodded, before smirking. “One condition, though.”

Astra initially felt a stab of nervousness, before she realized Luna was messing around. She smirked back. “And what’s that?”

“You wear that tux again,” Luna replied. “You looked _very_ pretty in it.”

Astra felt a blush run across her face. “Aw, of course! But only if _you_ wear something fancy as well.” Then again, Luna looked amazing in literally anything, even her pajamas.

“I think I’ve got something,” Luna assured her. “Don’t worry.”

“Hey, this is all very sweet,” Lily piped up. “But does this mean I’m going to have to wait even longer to continue watching this show?”

Astra had honestly forgotten she was there, too caught up in flirting to notice anything else.

“Hey, it’ll probably just be a few hours,” Luna pointed out teasingly. “I’m sure you can find a way to entertain yourself until we’re back.”

Lily shrugged. “Alright,” She replied lightheartedly. “But if you guys aren’t back before ten, I’m watching it without you.”

Throughout the class that commenced, Astra could not find herself paying attention. Her mind was fixated on the task she’d set in front of her, pondering how it would go and what she was supposed to do, filling herself with excitement for her first real date ever. She kept staring at Luna, hoping Ilia wouldn’t notice, or at least, that she wouldn’t mind.

The sudden realization that this was her _first date ever_ quickly turned the excitement into anxiety. She’d never done this before. What was she _supposed_ to do? What if she did something wrong? Whenever they showed you couples going on dates in fiction, the scene usually started halfway through said date. How was she supposed to start? Should she pull out Luna’s chair for her, or would she find that annoying? What would she order? What would Luna order? What restaurant would they even go to? It occurred to Astra that she didn’t know what restaurants Vale even had. This was _hopeless_.

Really, she’d never even hung out with other people one-on-one before Beacon, aside from her mother, which obviously didn’t count. But a _date_ was a whole new thing. A date came with rules, and expectations, and responsibilities, and Astra didn’t know _any_ of them.

She didn’t think she’d ever worried this much about things before meeting Luna. Cleary, her girlfriend’s anxiety was rubbing off on her. If she didn’t like her so much, Astra would find it annoying.

She was so fixated on her thoughts that she didn’t register Ilia calling the class to a close until Luna nudged her.

“Are you okay?” Luna whispered as other students began leaving the room. “You seem more distracted than usual.” The girl’s brows were creased in concern. “Is it the date?”

Astra flushed. “No, it’s fine,” She lied. “I just…can you give me a minute? I need to talk to Ilia.” Perhaps a fellow lesbian who _wasn’t_ her girlfriend could help her out here.

“Okay,” Luna gave Astra’s hand a quick squeeze before letting go and standing up. “Just make sure you’re not too late for our next class. I’ll see you there.”

Once the room was empty, Astra hurried up to Ilia and threw herself dramatically over her desk. “I need your heeelllppp.” She moaned.

Ilia looked at her in amusement. “I noticed you seemed awfully inattentive. Something on your mind?”

“I asked Luna out on our first proper date and I have no idea what I’m supposed to do,” Astra confessed. “I need your master skills. _Please_.”

Ilia chuckled. “What exactly makes you think I have ‘master skills’? I haven’t exactly been on many dates myself.”

Astra pulled herself up to sit cross-legged on the desk. “Yeah, but the one I’ve heard about that you _have_ had went great, from the sounds of it. My mother could _not_ stop texting me about you. She’s head-over-heels. You’ve got to be doing _something_ right.”

Ilia blushed slightly. “She really liked it that much?”

“ _Yes!_ ” Astra slammed her hands on the desk for emphasis. “So, I need your help! How do I not screw this up?”

“Well, first of all,” Ilia replied. “Everyone’s different. Luna’s idea of a perfect date is probably very different from Neon’s.”

Okay, that was a good point, Astra had to admit.

“Second,” Ilia continued. “I don’t exactly think you’ve got anything to worry about.”

Astra frowned. “Explain.”

Ilia chuckled warmly. “You seem to forget that you and Luna are _already_ girlfriends,” She pointed out. “It’s been obvious to me from the day I came here that you two care very much for each other. Knowing Luna and the way she feels about you, you could spill food all over yourself, looking like a complete failure, and she’d not think any less of you.”

Astra thought of all the times she’d acted dumb in front of Luna before. And yet, it hadn’t stopped Luna from crushing on her and hadn’t stopped them from becoming girlfriends. Maybe Ilia was right.

“You are very wise,” She commented. “Thank you.”

Ilia chuckled. “Anytime, Astra. Just try not to worry too much about it, okay? I’m sure you’ll both have a wonderful time. Now,” She flicked a hand. “Go and get to your next class,” She gave a slight smirk. “And try to pay attention to that one.”

Astra grinned sheepishly. “Right. Sorry.”

She hopped off the desk, thanking Ilia again, and headed off to the next class. Her mind felt far more at ease now, with the reminder that she’d pretty much already done everything that could go wrong during a date, and Luna liked her anyway. As for finding a restaurant, Luna would probably be happy to suggest one. That way, Astra wouldn’t be taking her anywhere she didn’t like.

This would be fine, she assured herself. She let the excitement take over again, skipping as she walked down the hallway. It wouldn’t just be fine. It would be _great_.


	33. Night Out

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luna and Astra head out on their first real date, hoping it'll go well.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wwhhhheeee romance...these bitches gay good for them

Luna hoped she was hiding how nervous she was.

She’d been on dates before, if you could call them that. Really, her dates with her ex-girlfriend in combat school had just been hanging out at the playground and eating together for lunch without Cobalt.

But _this_ was a real date, at a restaurant and everything, with nice clothes. This was more than a playground meetup, and Luna wasn’t sure if she was prepared for the expectations.

As she brushed her hair, tugging at the tangles she’d worked up over the day, she assured herself that Astra wasn’t exactly the type to have expectations, not above expecting people to be decent, anyway. She liked Luna as she was, and she wouldn’t have asked her out otherwise.

She considered putting her hair back up before leaving the bathroom, but then had a look at herself in the mirror before deciding to leave it down. It would be a struggle to keep it neat for the night, but it worked well with the dress she’d put on.

Said dress was a pale lavender colour that faded to white towards the bottom. It was simple, but Luna’s favourite, mostly due to the fact it had long sleeves. She always felt more comfortable when her arms were not exposed unless it was the middle of summer and she had no choice.

The finishing touch was something she rarely did but decided upon just for tonight. She’d never been the biggest fan of jewelry, but she owned an amethyst pendant on a thin silver chain that she kept with her for good luck. Blake had given it to her when she was eight, and it always comforted her. She slipped it over her head, glad that the chain was long enough so that the metal did not touch her skin, and instead rested on the collar of the dress.

There. If she wasn’t ready mentally, she was at least ready physically. Opening the door, she stepped into the dorm.

All three of her teammates turned to look at her, but Luna’s eyes were only on Astra. Her girlfriend looked the same as she did on the night they’d confessed their feelings, except this time her hair was in a ponytail, and the look on her face was not one of shame and guilt. Instead, her eyes were wide as she stared at Luna, awe plain on her face, clearly unable to speak for the moment. Luna offered a small smile.

“Oh, wow. You look…amazing.” Astra breathed at last. “I can’t believe I missed this for the dance.”

Luna blushed, the words meaning everything to her. “Thanks,” She replied. “So do you.”

Seemingly to realize she was staring, Astra jumped slightly, as if to shake her gaze away. “Right, um,” She gestured to the door. “Shall we go, m’lady?”

Luna chuckled slightly at the gentlemanly act. She took Astra’s hand. “Of course.”

“You two have fun!” Cobalt called after they as they left the room.

“Remember your curfew!” Lily added. “I _will_ watch it without you if you’re not back in time.”

“So,” Luna asked as they walked hand-in-hand through the hallway. “Where are we going?”

“Well, I don’t want to take you anywhere you don’t want to go, so, I’ve decided to let _you_ decide.” Astra chirped in response.

Luna saw right through her. She smirked. “You don’t know any restaurants in Vale, do you?”

Astra grinned sheepishly. “Yeah, not really.”

“Well, don’t worry,” Luna assured her. “I know a nice place that’s not too expensive and isn’t too far from where the transports dock. I go there with my family sometimes.”

Astra beamed. “Sounds great!”

As they crossed the school grounds and boarded a bullhead just in time before it left, few words were exchanged between the two. Luna had plenty to say, but was saving it for the date itself, and was content to just gaze adoringly at Astra while holding her hand. Occasionally, they’d burst into giggles among the silence, earning them confused looks from a couple of other passengers, and rolled eyes from others. For once, Luna didn’t mind the judgment.

The restaurant was within view as they exited the transport and the moment Luna pointed it out, Astra happily pulled her over to it, jokingly acting as if it had been her idea to go there all along.

Inside was just as it had been last time Luna had been there, though this was the first time she’d done so without her parents. It was warmly-lit, with a bar to one side, and round tables spaced out in a large room. Along the sides of the room were booths with dark red cushions; the corners of which were often Luna’s seating of choice. Thankfully, the restaurant was not especially full, and the corner booths were free. Luna tugged Astra over and settled herself into one side as Astra took the other.

Astra picked up a menu from the center of the table and inspected it. “So, what are you gonna get?” She asked Luna as she peered at the ‘meals’ section.

“Probably battered fish,” Luna admitted. “My mother grew up coastally and cooks it all the time at home, so I’ve gotten a taste for it.”

“Fish is nice,” Astra agreed, her eyes still on the menu. “I might get some beef cheeks. Do you know if they’re good?”

Luna nodded. “They always give them a nice sauce here.”

“Alrighty, well, that’s sorted.” Astra closed the menu and pushed it back to the middle of the table, before picking up the number stand and fiddling with it absent-mindedly. After a moment, she asked, “Do you go to Menagerie often?”

The question initially surprised Luna, until she remembered she’d just mentioned it. “Yeah, a few times,” She replied. “We mostly go up there in the summer holidays to visit my grandparents.”

Astra thought for a moment. “I bet it’s nice up down there in the summer.”

Luna shrugged. “Sure, when it’s not too crowded.” She regretted the slight bitterness in her tone the moment she spoke, not having meant for it to slip through.”

Astra looked away for a moment. “Oh, right. I forget that sometimes. I just meant that I’ve never really been anywhere costal in the summer before.”

For a moment, Luna had forgotten that Astra had lived in Atlas her whole life, where nice summer holidays were the last thing you were going to get. “I’ll take you to one of Vale’s beaches in the summer,” She promised her. “We’ve got some nice ones here.”

Astra grinned at her. “Aw, that sounds nice. I’m holding you to that.”

“Just don’t let me forget.” Luna chuckled. Truthfully, she wasn’t the biggest fan of beaches, with how the wind blew sand into your eyes and wet sand clung to your skin, but it would be worth it to see Astra experiencing it for the first time.

The waiter came over to take their orders, and Astra did the talking, prompting an inward sigh of relief in Luna. She’d never tried ordering her own food from a restaurant before and didn’t plan to start any time soon. Having an extroverted girlfriend would come in handy, it seemed.

“Sorry if you don’t like raspberry soda,” Astra commented after the waiter left. “I should’ve asked first.”

“Don’t worry,” Luna assured her. “I love it.”

A grin crossed Astra’s face. “Hey, me too!” Luna didn’t bother to comment that the fact was obvious; the pleasure on her girlfriend’s face at sharing something in common was too adorable.

“Ssooooo, um...” Astra tapped her fingers on the table. “Dates are for getting to know each other, right? Do you…have any pets?”

Luna smiled fondly at her awkwardness. “No,” She replied. “But Ruby and Weiss have a cat, a white one. And my uncles, Oscar and Whitley, have a dog.”

Astra perked up, clapping her hands. “Oh, I know that dog!”

Luna blinked at her in surprise. “You do?”

Astra nodded enthusiastically. “I’ve met the Pines a few times before in Atlas. One time they were at the park with their dog and they let me pet him.” She squealed. “He’s so _cute_.” She chuckled. “And I love his name.”

Luna grinned. She’d been old enough, when Whitley had brought the dog for his husband, to remember when they’d named him. Ozpin, because he was always hiding things. Genius. “It’s pretty clever,” She admitted. “I didn’t realize you might have met them.”

“Oh yeah, I’ve met a few influential people up there,” Astra replied, “Mostly at the parties my mom used to take me to, but sometimes just in the street too.”

“Have you met Penny?”

Astra grinned. “Yeah, she’s the coolest!” her eyes shone. “I’ve met the happy Huntresses too. Actually, the first time I met May Marigold was the first time I realized I was trans.” She sat back in her seat, looking wistful. “Atlas sucks, but it’s good to know there are people there working to make it better.”

Luna smiled softly at her. “Of course. It’s already better than it once was, especially with Whitley Pine running the SDC and Robyn Hill on the council.”

Astra sighed. “I know that. But Atlas’ problems are more than just a few people can fix right away, even if they are in positions of power. I’m glad to be here instead.” She grinned at Luna. “With you.”

The night continued well, and Luna felt her fears melting away as she talked and laughed with Astra. She was able to pretend that they were the only ones in the room, that nobody else existed to watch or judge them. Even when she accidentally squeezed lemon onto her dress, Astra just laughed good-heartedly and helped her clean it up. And when Astra kept getting sauce from her meal all over her face, Luna was able to wipe it away with a serviette, a moment of slight intimacy that Luna felt oddly comfortable with.

And as Astra had mentioned, they’d certainly been able to learn more about each other; tiny facts that neither of them even really needed to know. Astra told her about how Team FNKI would sometimes bring her to raves, and how the entire club would always make sure to watch their behavior around her. In return, Luna told the story of the time Blaze had accidentally set the carpet on fire, leading it to need to be replaced. And then, Astra told her about how Astra had thrown a light ball into the face of a kid who’d pulled her tail, and how Neon had defended her after the school punished her for it.

“Ugh,” Luna pushed her plate away after about an hour of talking and eating. “I think that’s as much food as I can handle.”

Astra nodded, placing down her knife and fork. “You didn’t tell me beef cheeks were so _filling_.”

Luna chuckled. “That tends to be the way with beef. Probably doesn’t help that you also ate all my fries for me.”

“Hah. True.” Astra patted her stomach. “Still, don’t think I’ll have any room for dessert.”

Luna glanced around; the restaurant was emptier now than before and she had a feeling they’d be shutting down food production soon. “Should we go, then?”

Astra squeezed out of the booth and stood up, her tail waving. “Sure. Did you want to walk home? It should still be nice weather outside.”

Luna stood up and stretched slightly, feeling cramped from sitting in place for so long. “Sounds good to me.”

“Hey, freak!”

Luna tensed, looking past Astra to notice an older man approaching them, clearly drunk, to the point where Luna wondered why he’d not been thrown out yet.

The man strode up to Astra, who blinked at him in confusion. “Can I help you?”

The man cast a dirty look at her tail. “Don’t you think this place is a bit too nice for an animal?”

Anger shot through Luna. She wondered why he’d not addressed her as well until she realized she’d subconsciously curled her tail in a way that meant it was covered by her dress. She flicked it out, the fur standing on end.

Astra looked unimpressed as she looked the man up and down. “Don’t _you_ think this place is a bit too nice for someone so gross?”

Luna suppressed a chuckle, walking over to stand firmly beside Astra.

The man’s face twisted in anger, looking at Luna and seeming to notice her tail, then back at Astra. “You little brats need to be taught a lesson.” He snarled.

Quicker than Luna could react to, he pulled out a knife from his coat. Astra’s expressed turned to fear and anger in an instant as she moved in front of Luna. Neither of them had brought their weapons. Hand-to-hand, they might have been able to take him, but there was little either teen could do against an armed adult.

“Hey!” A sharp voice cut in as a waitress hurried up to the man. “What’s going on here?” She glanced sharply at the knife. “Are you trying to hurt these young women?”

“They’re not women,” The man growled. “They’re filth.”

The waitress didn’t back down. “We don’t tolerate violence or discrimination here,” She insisted. “You need to leave before I call the police or a hunstman.”

Luna remained tense, until the man gave in, shoving the knife back into his coat and walking away, stumbling slightly and muttering as he slammed the door open and left the building, letting it close behind him with a thud. Only then did Luna let herself sigh in relief.

The waitress turned to Astra and Luna, her face deeply apologetic. “I’m so sorry,” She told them. “People like him aren’t welcome here.”

Astra was wordless in response, and Luna placed a hand on her shoulder. “Thank you for getting rid of him. We appreciate it more than we can say.”

The waitress still looked sympathetic. “Can I get you anything? A free dessert?”

Luna glanced at Astra, who was still staring at the door the man had left through.

“No,” She responded. “That’s okay. We were just heading out.”

The waitress nodded. “If you’re sure. I recommend you use our back entrance, though,” She gestured towards a smaller door, opposite from the one the man had left through. “Just in case he’s lurking.”

“Of course,” Luna gave her a quick nod. “Thank you.”

Her arm still on her shoulder, Luna led Astra out of the building and into the street, which was thankfully still busy and well-lit enough to deter any more attempted attacks. For a moment, they were quiet as they started heading back in Beacon’s direction, but Luna knew Astra’s silence was a good indication that the event had shaken her.

“Hey, are you okay?” She whispered.

Astra’s eyes were fixed on the ground. “I…I haven’t had anyone pull a weapon on me in years,” She replied quietly. “I wasn’t expecting it.”

Luna wrapped her arm more closely around her shoulder. “I know,” She wished she could say much more. “I wasn’t either.”

Astra placed her arms around herself and Luna realized she was shivering slightly. “I just…he could have hurt us. He could have hurt _you_ …”

“He couldn’t have,” Luna tried to assure her, though she wasn’t sure she believed her own words. “He was in a public place. Even if that waitress hadn’t seen, someone else would have.”

Astra sighed. Luna felt her relax slightly. “I know. But I don’t know what I would have done if he’d done anything to you…you’re so important to me, Luna.”

Luna stopped walking and took the moment to pull Astra close to her until her girlfriend stopped shivering.

“I’ll be okay,” She soothed. “And so will you. We’re both badass huntresses, remember? And if we ever come across someone like that again, we can take them down with no problem.”

Astra leaned her head on Luna’s shoulder, smiling slightly. “Right.”

“We’re partners, and we’re amazing fighters, and we’ve got an amazing team,” Luna added. “Nothing can touch us.” She sighed quietly. “Stuff like this is going to keep happening. I know that. But we can deal with it when it does.” She grabbed one of Astra’s hands and squeezed it. “As long as we’re together, we can protect each other.”

Astra smiled. “You’re pretty smart,” She told her. “I like that about you.”

Luna blushed and chuckled. “Aw come on, I’m not _that_ smart.”

Astra leaned on her shoulder. “Yeah, you are.” Before Luna could protest again, she stood up straighter and tugged on her arm. “Now, come on. Let’s get home before Lily watches our show without us.”


	34. Family Bonding

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lily visits home to help refresh her mother's fighting skills.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> considered leaving this one for a bit but ehhhh i was bored and felt like writing so! bonus extra early chapter. expect another one fairly soon.

Returning home for the weekend instead of hanging out in the dorm with her team was strange for Lily. Then again, at least this was more productive than binging a cartoon for three days straight as she had last week. But with the show being on break, Lily saw no better time than to check up on her mother and Neo for the day.

Lily almost opened the door right away on instinct; she’d never bothered to knock when it was just her and her mother, but now that Neo was there, she figured to give it a quick tap, just in case.

It was Emerald who opened the door, greeting Lily with a smile.

“I’d almost forgotten you were coming over,” She told her warmly. “Good thing I haven’t made any lunch yet.” She stepped aside to let Lily in.

“You don’t need to feed me,” Lily assured her as she entered. “I have a big breakfast. And I’m looking after myself now, remember?”

Emerald followed her into the living room. “Hey, as long as you’re under my roof, you’re eating my food. I’ve just brought fresh bread and I’m not about to let it go to waste.”

Lily sighed affectionately. “Fine, but only after the session. We’ll be hungrier by then.”

“Right,” Emerald sighed. “Training.”

Lily glanced at her sympathetically. “You know you’ll need to if you want to be able to get your license.” She reminded her.

Emerald sat down on the couch. “I know that,” she replied. “And I don’t regret agreeing to back into it, so don’t worry. It’ll just be…” Her face creased. “…Hard to get used to fighting again.”

Lily sat beside her, shrugging. “It wasn’t that long ago that you last trained me. This’ll be just the same, right?” For years, they’d sparred in the paddock out the back of the house, first with foam weapons when she’d just been a kid, then wooden, and then real weapons. Everything Lily had learned up until Beacon, she’d leaned from her mother.

Emerald smiled at her. “True. But it’s not the sparring I’m worried about. It’s what comes after.”

Lily leaned over as she gazed at Emerald seriously. “If you’re really not sure, you can always tell someone that you’re not ready.” Lily could understand now, why Emerald had been so hesitant to see her off to Beacon. There was a lot of weight behind the decisions they were each making, and their choices were not for the faint of heart. Then again, Emerald was anything but faint-hearted. Just tired, and weighed down by a guilt she didn’t need to have.

Emerald shook her head insistently. “I’ve been sitting around doing nothing for over twenty years,” She stated simply. “If I want to make up for what I’ve done, it’s about time I started using my skills for the right things.” She blinked, and her eyes flared with red flames as she produced a small, weak flame that hovered over her palm. “ _All_ of my skills.”

Lily felt a glow of pride towards her. “So long as you’re sure.” She blinked at the flame as it flickered gently. “Just uh…maybe don’t use that on me.”

Emerald chuckled, switching her powers off again. “Of course not.”

The sound of something being placed down in the kitchen caught Lily’s attention, and she looked up as Neo walked into the living room with a yawn. The short woman looked in far better shape than the day Lily had rescued her, no longer dressed in old, torn clothing, and her hair much neater and cleaner. Adourned in a dark green sweatshirt and tracksuit pants that both drowned her, she hardly looked like a dangerous mercenary anymore. Lily almost chuckled.

Neo stopped short when she saw her, offering a small wave of greeting.

“Hey, Neo,” Lily replied. “Have you been doing okay?” This was her first time speaking with her face-to-face, outside of when she’d tested the new scroll Ruby had given her, but she still felt strangely at-ease around her. Perhaps because she knew that Neo was the only person she knew for sure who would genuinely never judge her or Emerald based on the past, not even subconsciously. Few people were going to understand them more than Neo.

Neo signed back what Lily could roughly translate as _‘Hey, kid. I’m doing fine.’_ She’d been studying sign language in her spare time, hoping to be able to better communicate with the mute woman.

Turning to Emerald with a mock glare, Neo signed something else, though Lily only caught _‘house’_ from the swift movements.

Emerald laughed. “She says she’s not a fan of the house arrest,” She explained to Lily. She looked back at Neo teasingly, before adding. “And she wouldn’t _be_ on house arrest were it not for the fact she’s still a wanted criminal.”

Neo poked her tongue out at her in response, a gesture that needed no translation.

“Did you guys figure out what to do about that?” Lily asked curiously. “She can’t stay stuck inside forever.”

“Ruby and the others are going to talk to the police about pardoning her,” Emerald replied for Neo. “Without mentioning that she’s The Ghost, of course. There haven’t been any records of her actually killing anyone when she was working with Roman or Cinder, so if they can get them to look past the theft, she should be free to walk the streets again.”

Neo nodded in confirmation.

“What will you do then?” Lily asked her. She doubted going back to doling out vigilante justice was much of an option.

Neo shrugged, before signing _‘I don’t know’_. Something soft crossed her features before she signed something Lily didn’t recognize, glancing slightly at Emerald.

Lily glanced at her mother for a translation and saw Emerald smiling slightly.

“Might stick around, huh?” Emerald’s slightly teasing tone didn’t match the touched look on her face, until she added with a grin, “Even though it’s so boring here?”

Neo signed something back. Emerald chuckled, but didn’t translate for Lily. On that note, Lily remembered something; the second reason she’d come by.

“Oh!” She jumped to her feet, pulling her old scroll from one of her jacket pockets. She carried it over to Neo and held it out to her. “I wanted to give you this. It’s my old scroll. I don’t really need it anymore.”

Neo stared for a moment, before gently taking the blocky piece of technology from Lily’s outstretched hand.

“It doesn’t have a camera and only has really basic games,” Lily explained. “But I thought it might help you talk to everyone better, until our sign language improves. I’ve already added myself, my mom, and all of RWBY and JNR as contacts.”

Neo turned the scroll over in her hands, before looking back up at Lily. There wasn’t a hint of her usual sassy expression on her face, only genuine surprise, and gratitude. She moved an outstretched hand from her chin forward, one of the first sign language phrases Lily had learned- _‘thank you’_.

Lily smiled at her. “No problem. Just thought it could help.” She turned and walked back to her mother as Neo turned on the scroll to inspect it further.

“Did you want to get started, then?” Emerald asked, standing up from the couch.

Lily pulled off her jacket and laid it over the arm of the couch, making a mental note to remember to pick it up again before she went back home. “Sure.”

Emerald glanced at Lily’s empty holsters. “Hand-to-hand, I’m guessing?”

“I forgot to bring Evening Jade,” Lily admitted. “So yeah, that’ll have to do for today.”

Emerald shrugged. She turned to Neo, who was still figuring out the scroll. “Did you want to come and watch?”

Neo looked up and grinned. Lily didn’t need to translate what she said to recognize that she wanted to.

The three of them headed out into the backyard, where Emerald unlocked the gate to the paddock. As she and Lily strode into the wide, open area, Neo hoisted herself onto a fencepost and watched expectantly.

Lily paced a few steps away from her mother before turning to face her.

Emerald stretched briefly. “You ready?”

Lily lifted her arms. “Ready.”

She knew that Emerald would go for her the moment the words were out of her mouth and dodged as she was proven right, leaving her mother to swing at empty air. With the advantage, Lily swung a leg out to trip her up, but Emerald had recovered in time to block her, grabbing her leg and throwing her off-balance.

Thankfully, months of training at Beacon meant that Lily’s physical strength was as good as ever, and she twisted out of her mother’s grip with an expert spin, balling her fist at the end of it, and was able to land a punch on Emerald’s arm that might have hurt were it not for Aura. Emerald staggered a little but did not back down, retaliating with a blow that caught Lily’s shoulder, though not making her sway in the slightest.

Lily had always known her mother was a powerful fighter, but it seemed now, she realized, that she was out of practice. She was slower than Lily remembered from their previous training sessions. Her blows didn’t hit as hard either, or perhaps Lily was just more durable now. Either way, she could tell that she was winning.

Emerald dove at her with a full-body slam, but instead of dodging this time, Lily planted her feet firmly on the ground and braced, realizing now that she’d be able to take the hit. As Emerald slammed into her, Lily caught her by the arms, using her mother’s own full weight against her to turn and throw her to the ground, where she landed with a heavy thud. The fight was done.

Lily was hardly out of breath, her muscles aching far less than they usually did after a sparring match at Beacon. She glanced at her mother as the older woman picked herself up, wiping grass off her clothes.

“Are you okay?” Lily asked her. She knew Aura would have prevented her from any pain. It was Emerald’s pride that Lily was worried about.

“I’m fine,” Emerald replied. “Let’s go again.”

Several more matches commenced, all ending as quickly as the first. In a couple of cases, Emerald had managed to get the upper hand, but mostly towards the end, when Lily was getting out of breath. Otherwise, Lily won every fight with little trouble, and it worried her. Was this just her own training coming into play, or was Emerald not giving it her all?

As Lily rested on the grass after the most recent match, she watched as Neo, who’d been watching every fight with interest, hopped down from the fence and strode over. She signed something quick, pointing to herself, then stretched, before looking pointedly at Emerald with a challenge in her bi-coloured eyes. It wasn’t hard to figure out what she’d said: _‘My turn’_.

Emerald blinked at her in surprise. “You? Are you sure?”

Neo replied with something that Lily couldn’t translate.

“That isn’t the case,” Emerald told her. Whatever it was she was replying to, Lily could tell she was lying. “I just don’t want to risk seriously hurting anyone. Not her _or_ you.”

Neo signed something else, before crossing her arms pointedly.

Emerald sighed. “Fine. One match.”

Neo smiled. She went and stood opposite from Emerald, hands on her hips. Curious to see how this would play out, Lily stood up and hurried over to sit herself on the fencepost where Neo had been sitting earlier.

There was no preparation for this one. Neo flew at Emerald with surprising speed the moment Emerald raised her hands. Lily expected to see her taken down in an instant, but she dodged away. Instead of stumbling, though, Neo turned with totally smooth movement, as if she’d been expecting Emerald to get out of the way in time. Lily wondered if she’d picked up on Emerald’s tactics from watching the previous fights, or if her way of fighting was something Neo had known before Lily had even been born.

As the fight continued, Lily had a feeling it was the latter. The two matched every blow the other dealt with near-perfect harmony. There were no stumbles, no jolting movements. They were graceful, more like dance partners than two people sparring. Lily was mesmerized by it.

Neo didn’t have her weapon. Either it had been left behind in the alleyway where Lily had found her, or she’d lost it before even then. She still fought as if she had it though, striking at Emerald with quick jabs and blocking her every attack with her arms. Her movements were elegant, even playful. Lily could see her enjoyment in every second. She wondered how long it had been since she’d had a non-serious fight like this. Probably decades.

Emerald’s style was rougher, and she hit harder, the few times she hit at all, anyway. But this also made her slower, Lily noted; it took her longer to recover from when Neo turned things around on her. All the same though, Emerald was definitely hitting harder this time. It dawned on Lily what Neo must have been saying before- that Emerald had been taking it too easy on Lily, intentionally or otherwise. But now that she had what Emerald probably considered a more equal opponent, one she was much less afraid of genuinely harming, she was faring much better.

After several more minutes, Lily could tell that the fight was drawing to an end; Emerald was getting tired, this fight probably only adding to the last several. Neo, on the other hand, was still raring to go. As Emerald swung at her, she stumbled. Taking advantage of the moment, Neo nudged the other woman off-balance, before swinging out a leg and sending her hurtling to the ground. But just as Neo had been quick to the blow, she was just as quick to whip out a hand and catch Emerald before she hit the grass.

For a couple of moments, the two stared each other in the face as they panted heavily before Neo pulled Emerald to her feet again and gave a quick curtsey.

Lily leaned forward. She’d seen that fleeting look of tension, passed between the two women. She’d seen that look before. For a moment, she wondered if she’d imagined it, or if there was a deeper connection being formed between her mother and this ex-criminal than she’d thought. She found herself unsure of how she felt about the idea of the case being the latter.

Emerald was still breathing heavily. “That good enough for you?” She asked Neo, a half-smile on her face.

Neo grinned in response.

Emerald dusted herself off with a huff. “Well, glad to know you had fun. But I think that’s enough for the day.”

Neo shrugged good-naturedly. She gave Emerald’s shoulder a pat before heading back in the direction of the house. Emerald gazed after her, her expression showing exhaustion, but affection as well, before following her. Lily hopped down from the post and hurried after them, curiosity still pricking at her. But as Emerald prepared sandwiches and Neo got back to figuring out the scroll, Lily didn’t ask.

About an hour later, Lily said her goodbyes and began heading back to Beacon, looking forward to a warm shower and muscle-relaxing body wash. As she walked, she felt her scroll buzz in her pocket, and she pulled it out. The screen flashed that she had a text from Neo and, curious, she checked it as she walked.

_‘Try not to worry too much about your mother. She’s already pretty tough, but I’ll help take care of her. If you let me, that is.’_

Lily smiled and found her earlier uncertainty slipping away. She liked Neo, and the more she got to know her, the more she felt that she could trust her. And if she made Emerald happy, regardless of whether it was platonic or otherwise, Lily could accept that. She sent a text back.

_‘Thank you.’_


	35. Vindication

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> New friends and old enemies show their faces again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WHOOHOOOOOO i've waited for this moment for MONTHS
> 
> also we back bayby :D

After over a week of the girls keeping themselves in the dorm to watch cartoons while they ate, it was nice to Cobalt that he could finally go to the cafeteria with his entire team. He’d not actually mentioned the fact he missed spending time with them; they’d simply run out of cartoons to watch, but he was grateful for their company anyway. Sitting with them was a lot nicer than sitting by himself and watching Storm when they weren’t looking.

 _I should talk to them soon._ He reminded himself. Well, he _had_ talked to Storm on occasion, but not as often as he wanted to. Not about the things he wanted to.

A poke from Lily broke him out of his thoughts.

“You good?” She asked him. “You seem out of it.”

“I’m okay,” Cobalt assured her. “Just thinking about Storm.”

Lily smirked. “Ah, of course. When aren’t you?”

On the other side of the table, Astra’s eyes narrowed slightly. A quite “Hm,” was all she said. Cobalt blinked at her.

Luna nudged her gently. “Hey, come on.”

Astra sighed. “Sorry,” She glanced apologetically at Cobalt. “I know they seem to be trying. But they never changed over the five years I knew them at Titan. I just don’t know if I can trust that they suddenly have.”

Cobalt bit back the defense that it wasn’t ‘sudden’. He knew it must feel that way to Astra, when she’d know them for so much longer than the rest of them. “Have you thought about talking to them?” He asked instead.

Astra tipped her head slightly. “To Storm?” She glanced over at where the other student sat with Yarrow a few tables away. “What would I even talk to them about?”

“Anything you want to know,” Cobalt replied. “I’m sure they’d be happy to give you answers. And I think they’re past the point where they’ll just make excuses for themself.”

Astra rested her chin on her arms. “Yeah, maybe. We’ll see.”

Cobalt was almost about to take a bite of his pie slice before it got cold when he noticed people approaching their table.

“Hey, if it isn’t Crush Boy!”

Cobalt looked up to see Blaire Arylide and the rest of Team BLCD grinning down at him in greeting.

Blaire blinked past him at the girls, who stared back in confusion and slight surprise.

“Oh, the whole gang’s here!” Blaire chirped. “Good to see.”

“Hey, Blaire,” Cobalt replied, still surprised by the friendliness of the older team. “Did you need something?”

Blaire looked back at him. “Ah, we were going to ask if we could join you, but it’s all good if you’d rather spend the time with your team.”

Cobalt glanced over at Astra, who was staring at him with her hands clasped and her eyes wide.

“Nah,” He responded. “I think you’re welcome.”

“Neat.” Blaire sat down next to him, Dusk beside her, while Ceionn and Lycoris headed around to sit by Astra, who stared in awe, hands squished to her face. Cobalt wondered if they were sitting according to the partner arrangement of their team, as his own team often did. That would make Ceionn and Lycoris partners, which he could see, but for some reason, it surprised him that Blaire and Dusk would be. Then again, people probably wouldn’t have imagined that he and Lily would make very good partners either. There was always more than met the eye.

“So Cobalt, why’d you never tell us you were friends with Team BLCD?” Lily asked lightheartedly. “That’s pretty impressive.”

“We’ve spoken once.” Cobalt corrected her.

“Also, we’re not that impressive,” Lycoris piped up. “I dropped jelly all over myself once,” She sighed. “And kept eating it.”

Blaire huffed. “That’s nothing. Back in combat school, I misfired my first attempt at a weapon and set the school flag on fire.”

Dusk smirked. “You got in _so much_ trouble for that.”

Blaire crossed her arms stubbornly. “You’d think no student had ever accidentally set school property on fire before.”

Astra sat up eagerly. “I set Winter Schnee on fire once.” She announced cheerfully.

All seven heads turned to stare at her in utter disbelief.

Luna broke the brief silence that followed. “You _what?_ ”

Astra waved a hand casually. “Oh, it wasn’t that big of a deal. She’d come to Titan to give a speech as Atlas’ headmaster about the importance of Hunstman work and all that and when we were each given a chance to show off our combat abilities to her I _may_ have not aimed my shot well.” She grinned sheepishly. “She put it out before it hurt her or anything, but let’s just say there’s a reason Light of the Party doesn’t have shooting capabilities.”

Blaire blinked at her. “All right kid, you win.”

Beside Astra, Ceionn nodded. “You have my respect.”

Astra’s eyes sparkled. “Cool.”

“So hey,” Lycoris commented. “The first-year missions are coming up soon, right? Are you guys excited?”

In all honesty, Cobalt had almost forgotten. Between boredom and thinking about Storm, his mind hadn’t been much in the future. And yet, missions were only a week away, and he’d not mentally prepared himself at all. He hadn’t even wondered what kind of mission they’d have, or what dangers they might face.

Luna sighed. “I’m terrified,” She admitted. “There’s so much that could go wrong.”

Astra flung an arm around her girlfriend affectionally as she grinned at Lycoris. “I dunno what _she’s_ talking about. _I’m_ ready to go at literally any moment.”

Blaire laughed. “Honestly, it probably won’t be that scary _or_ exciting.” She admitted.

“Right,” Dusk added. “It won’t be like with Team RWBY dealt with. Usually, first-year missions are extremely basic; nothing much more than routine patrols or dealing with a couple of Grimm that _might_ be a threat to untrained villagers.”

Astra pouted slightly, but she pulled Luna closer. “Aw see, you’ve got nothing to worry about,” She told her. “Might be a little disappointing but…nothing to worry about.”

“Remember that missions aren’t for fun,” Lycoris pointed out to Astra. “They’re for learning and doing what you can to help people.” She smiled slightly. “Mind you, they can still be a little fun when you’re with the right people.”

Astra flexed the arm that wasn’t around Luna. “Well, I hope I can help people _and_ have fun. Best of both worlds!”

Cobalt poked at his pie, which was no longer warm. He sighed. “I’m going to go and see if I can get this heated up,” He told the others. “I’ll be back in a sec.”

Blaire grinned at him. “We’ll take this chance to get to know your team,” She glanced at Luna, Lily, and Astra. “If they don’t mind, that is.”

Astra’s eyes glowed. “Of course we don’t!”

Satisfied that he was leaving them in safe hands, Cobalt picked up his place and began to head over to the kitchen, hoping the cafeteria staff would take pity on him and let him use their microwave.

He’d almost reached it before an annoyingly familiar couple of figures blocked his path.

“Where do you think you’re going, bunny boy?”

Cobalt suppressed a groan. He did not want to deal with Rowan and Birch right now. “I’m just going to heat up my food,” He replied flatly. “I don’t want any trouble.”

Rowan crossed her arms. “Oh really?” She sneered. “Then why’d your freak little friend go and humiliate Birch in front of everyone?”

Cobalt stared at her, not knowing what she was talking about for a moment. “…Do you mean the sparring match? Rowan, that was _last term_. Why bring it up now?” These two were utterly ridiculous.

Birch crackled his knuckles. “As if we could do anything with the eyes of the whole school faculty on us.” He growled. Cobalt was surprised he knew what ‘faculty’ meant.

“But they’re not around right now,” Rowan added menacingly.

Cobalt sighed. He didn’t have time for this. “Whatever. I’m going to heat up my pie.” He tried to walk past him, but Birch shoved him roughly, and the plate slid out of his hands to shatter on the floor, splattering the pie into a mess. Coablt blinked at it, then looked back up at Rowan and Birch in annoyance.

“There,” Birch sniffed. “Fixed your problem.”

“Now,” Rowan stepped close to Cobalt. “Let’s discuss how you and your little friends are going to pay us back for what you did.”

“Yeah, no thanks.” Cobalt started to turn back around, but Birch grabbed his collar and jerked him back. A degree of nervousness mixed in with Cobalt’s annoyance. He’d promised Coco he wouldn’t get into any more cafeteria fights, and yet, here he was.

“Hey, leave him alone!”

Still in Birch’s grip, Cobalt turned his head to see, not any of his own team or BLCD, but Storm hurrying up, Yarrow right behind him.

Birch glared at Storm. “Do you mind, O great and mighty leader?” He asked scathingly. “Kind of in the middle of something.”

Storm grabbed his arm, hazel eyes narrowed. “I said, let him go.”

Birch let go of Cobalt’s collar and turned on Storm instead. “You may think you’re my leader, but you’ve got no power over me.” He growled.

Storm looked tired. “Why can’t you two ever just listen?” They pleaded. “Nothing would have happened to either of you if you hadn’t been so nasty to Team LLAC in the first place. You’ll be so much happier if you just let it go.”

Cobalt gave them a half-smile. It warmed his heart to see them continue to try, but nothing was going to get through to Rowan or Birch. They just weren’t open to learning.

“Ugh,” Rowan groaned. “You know, you were already pretty boring, but you’ve gotten so much worse since you got soft for this rabbit-eared freak.”

Storm lifted an eyebrow. “Is ‘freak’ really all you can ever come up with? Can’t you think of any other adjective?”

Cobalt chuckled. Birch, however, was not amused. Before Cobalt could react, he swung a fist at Storm, only for his fist to collide with invisible air, the knuckles audibly cracking. Beside Storm, Yarrow crossed his arms and grinned.

Storm patted his teammate’s shoulder, not having reacted at all to the swing. “Thanks, buddy.”

Cobalt went and stood beside them, turning to Rowan and Birch. “Give it up,” He told them. “Nobody else is on your side. Physical or not, this isn’t a fight you can win.”

Rowan looked even more furious than Birch as she summoned her weapon, though standing beside Yarrow, Cobalt wasn’t threatened by it.

“You think you’re so special, don’t you?” She seethed. “You think you deserve sssoooo much more than everyone else because of who your parents are don’t you?” Her voice was rising, though Cobalt wasn’t sure she was aware of how loud she was getting. Others seemed to be though, because the noise in the cafeteria had significantly quietened.

“You think you deserve special treatment,” Rowan continued, “Just because your _stepmother_ went and ruined her status by marrying some _weak, pathetic, lowlife_ rabbit girl!”

“What,” The voice was cold, sharp, and dangerous, “Did you just say about my wife?”

If the cafeteria had gone quiet before, it was silent now. Not a person spoke, except for a whispered ‘oh shit’ that Cobalt had a feeling came from Astra. Rowan and Birch were pale as chalk, horror clear on their faces as they turned around, slowly, to see Coco standing behind them. Glynda was at her side. Both looked furious, though Coco’s fury seemed far hotter than Glynda’s icy demeanor.

For once, Rowan and Birch were speechless.

“Professor Adel...!” Rowan managed. “I-I didn’t know you were there! I uh…I wasn’t talking about you!”

Coco looked severely unimpressed. “Oh, really? So then Cobalt has some other stepmother who’s married to a rabbit faunus?” her voice dripped with seething sarcasm. “I wasn’t aware. Should I have a talk with Velvet when I get home?”

Rowan was soaked in sweat. “N-no! You…you misunderstood! You misheard!”

Glynda stepped forward calmly. “Miss Coldstone,” She began icily, “You have demonstrated several times now that you are not willing to cease your discrimination and bigotry against your fellow students. Disrespecting a professor as well only adds to this.”

Rowan’s eyes flicked from side to side. Cobalt watched her desperation and panic turn to anger. “Well- they started it! If they hadn’t attacked us last term, we wouldn’t have to make them pay us back!”

“It is my understanding, Miss Coldstone,” Glynda replied coolly, “That Team LLAC were already punished accordingly for the altercation in the cafeteria last semester. As were you, for provoking them as you did. What would you have expected otherwise?”

Rowan seethed. “They-they shouldn’t even _be_ here!” She stamped her foot like a petulant child. “They only got in because of their parents; they- they aren’t even good fighters. They’re just a bunch of _freaks_!”

Glynda adjusted her glasses. “I’ve heard quite enough. We don’t tolerate discrimination of any kind here at Beacon. Miss Coldstone, you are hereby expelled from this school. You will have to continue your studies another day.” She looked over her glasses. “Or, preferably, not at all, until you learn what it means to be a Huntress.”

Cobalt could have cheered as he heard several gasps from the watching crowd. Rowan was red-faced and incredibly pissed off.

“That’s not fair!” She screeched.

“Yeah!” Birch spoke for the first time, puffing out his chest. “If you expel her, you’ll have to expel me too!”

Glynda barely looked at him. “Very well. I want both of you packed up and out of this school by the end of the day.”

This time, several people did cheer. Cobalt couldn’t blame them. As Rowan and Birch stood in furious silence, Glynda turned and walked back out of the room, her job done.

Coco, however, stepped right up to Birch and Rowan. “Get out of here,” She hissed. “Now. And if I catch either of you harassing my son off-grounds, I will personally deal with you myself.”

As Birch and Rowan scurried off, Coco turned to Cobalt. “I’m sorry,” She said, her voice a lot softer now. “I should have dealt with them properly a long time ago.”

Cobalt wrapped her in a hug. “Don’t be sorry,” He assured her. “It’s done now.”

After hugging him back, Coco stepped back and regarded Storm and Yarrow, giving them nods of approval. “Thank you for defending Cobalt,” She told them. “Don’t tell anyone, but I’ll be sure to add some extra credit to your next assignment.”

Storm looked sheepish. “Aw, you don’t have to do that,” They replied, grinning. “We just happened to be close enough to do something, that’s all.”

“Although, uh,” yarrow piped up. “What do we do now? You know, now that our team’s just been halved?”

“Oh, right,” Coco looked thoughtful. “Actually, luck might be on your side. I’ve been talking with an old friend lately who’s just transferred her daughter out of Haven Academy. She was looking to send her here instead. It should be easy enough to arrange that she be added to your team,” She shrugged. “Won’t be full, but it’ll be better than just the two of you.”

Storm nodded. “Okay. Thank you, Professor Adel.”

“Anytime,” Coco sighed. “Well, now I have paperwork to go and do,” She checked her watch. “And you lot should be getting to class soon.”

Cobalt smiled at her. “Good luck with the paperwork.”

Coco smiled back fondly. “Hey, it’ll be worth it.”

As she walked out of the room, Cobalt found himself hugged from behind.

“I can’t believe that just happened!” Astra squealed. She let go of Cobalt. “We’re finally free of them…”

Cobalt turned to see that the rest of his team, as well as Team BLCD, had approached.

Lily gave him a quick hug as well. “We were really worried about you,” She told him, giving a half-smile. “Luna wouldn’t let us come and help. She said you could handle yourself.”

Luna chuckled. “You make me sound mean. I would’ve let you guys go if it got too bad.”

Astra pounded one fist into her hand. “I would have _destroyed_ them.”

“Hey, don’t worry about it,” Cobalt assured them warmly. “I’m glad we didn’t get into another fight.”

Astra sighed. “Yeah, I guess we would have gotten into trouble,” Her eyes narrowed. “I still wish I’d been able to destroy them though. Just one last time.”

Luna wrapped her arms over Astra’s shoulders. “You’ll get the chance to destroy something on our mission, I’m sure.”

“Right,” Lily added. “And we’ll be able to spend time together as a team.” She placed a hand on Cobalt’s shoulder, looking at him sympathetically. “I know we haven’t exactly been hanging out all at once outside of class. I’m sorry.”

Cobalt smiled at her. “It’s okay, I promise. We all have our own stuff to deal with. And you’re right, we’ll get the chance to bond on the mission.”

“Oohhh, I can’t wait!” Astra exclaimed. “We’re gonna camp out together, beat up some monsters, share monumental moments from our childhoods…it’s going to be amazing!”

Cobalt’s earlier downcast mood slipped away. His team was right. He couldn’t blame them for not spending much time with him when Lily had her mother to help and Astra and Luna were still adjusting to being a new couple. But they _would_ get their chance. And he was looking forward to it.


	36. Old Shame

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Astra seeks closure on her past with Storm.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> next up- mission time !!!! until then, enjoy this mostly-dialogue chapter with a little bit of astra backstory

Astra’s feelings were in a conflicted state.

On one hand, she was filled to the point of overflowing with excitement about the upcoming mission. Her _first one_ , with the best team she could ask for. As long as they had a good teacher to chaperone, things would be great.

On the other hand, she was struggling with confliction over Storm Hunter. A confliction within a confliction. After what they’d done yesterday, the way they’d stood up for Cobalt against their own teammates, not even rooting for them when they’d been suspended…she just wasn’t sure. She _wanted_ to trust them. After that, she felt like she _should_. But part of her simply couldn’t shake the knowledge of what they’d been like at Titan. Could people really just change like that, outside of fiction? How could she be sure that this wasn’t just some drawn-out front so that they could get closer to Cobalt, while hiding their true self? Or was _this_ their true self now that they were away from Atlas?

She recalled Cobalt’s advice; that she should try talking to them. Maybe it would help something. She could she for herself if this really was a permanent thing. Maybe even get an apology out of them, a real one. Then again, Astra had never been good at reading people. Though she was alone, she flushed as she thought of the confrontation that trait of hers had led to with Luna. Sure, things were _great_ now, but it could have gone so much worse. If Astra decided that Storm had changed and they ended up recessing into their old self later, she’d never forgive herself for what it’d do to Cobalt.

At least very least, she decided it was worth a try. It was a free period, and finding and talking to Storm would probably be more entertaining than lying on Luna’s bed while Cobalt worked on a drawing, and Luna and Lily were out to discuss their parents. She rolled off the bed.

“I’m going to the library.” She told Cobalt. That was probably her best bet for finding Storm, if what she’d heard about their habits was correct.

“Alright,” Cobalt replied, not taking his eyes off the paper. “Have fun.”

Astra started to piece together what she’d say once she found them. She couldn’t even remember the last time they’d spoken, but it had certainly been before Beacon. Most likely, it had been some school thing in Titan where she’d _had_ to talk to them in order to get something done. But she couldn’t remember the last time she’d chosen to, or the last time they’d chosen to speak to her.

Her suspicions on where to find them were right on the money. They were right up the back of the library, seated on a desk beside a window. Rather than reading, they were writing something in a workbook, though there were several books stacked beside them, and one open on above the workbook. Realizing they were probably busy, Astra hesitated to approach, but inwardly kicked herself for trying to put it off and forced herself to walk up to them.

“Hey.”

Jumping a little, Storm looked up at her, their eyes widening as they recognized her. “Oh…hey. Did you need something?”

Storm shifted. “Well, I know you’re Cobalt’s teammate. But…we went to Titan together, right?”

“Right,” Astra confirmed. “Can I sit?” She motioned to the chair on the other side of the table. “We need to talk.”

Storm closed their notebook. “Of course.”

Astra sat and clasped her hands on the table in front of her, looking directly at Storm. She decided to be upfront with it. “Is it true that you’ve changed?”

Storm blinked slowly. They didn’t look surprised by the question. “It’s true that I’m trying,” They stated. “I don’t know if I’m all the way there yet.”

It was good, Astra thought, that they weren’t insisting to have already changed. Still, she pressed.

“I don’t know how much you remember me,” She told them. “But I remember you pretty well. You and your friends.”

Storm looked uncomfortable at that.

“I remember how you’d all hang out together,” Astra continued. “I never understood why a good student like you would spend your time with them when they were always one grade away from dropping out.” She narrowed her eyes. “But that was never the biggest problem.”

“I know,” Storm replied quietly. “They were assholes. For what it’s worth, I’m not even friends with them anymore. They shunned me when I decided to go to Beacon instead of Atlas.”

Personally, it didn’t sound like that big of a loss to Astra.

“Do you remember,” She asked slowly. “When your friends would follow around that wolf faunus all day, howling at him, even though he had more sensitive hearing than most faunus?”

Storm looked away. “I remember. I’m-”

Astra cut them off. “I’m not done.” She sat back in the chair. “What about the sheep faunus that they held down to see if they could cut her horns off with the handsaw they’d snuck into school?”

The shame in Storm’s eyes grew. Astra had one more for them.

“And what about,” She asked quietly, leaning forward again. “When they threw ice water over an unsuspecting cat faunus in the middle of winter?” She almost flinched at the memory. “Or when they put a dead mouse in her pencil case?” She narrowed her eyes. “Or when they dropped a heavy rock on her tail when she wasn’t paying attention?”

Storm looked back up at her, their eyes swimming with clear regret. “I’m so sorry that any of that happened to you,” They told her. “To any of you. None of you deserved it.”

“It broke my tail, you know,” Astra commented, remembering the pain that had shot all the way up her spine when she’d tried to yank it out. “I couldn’t move it for weeks. I spent all that time scared to even walk because I felt so off-balance.”

She sighed. “I know you must have thought it was all in good fun. Or you were too worried they’d think badly of you if you said anything,” She stared seriously at Storm, praying her words would get through. “But they hurt _so many_ people. And every time, you stood by and did nothing. I even saw you laughing along sometimes. You could have stopped at least some of it if you’d just told a teacher, or even stopped them yourself. But you didn’t.”

It was a massive relief to get this all off her chest. For years, she’d not been able to express her frustration and anger towards those in Atlas who hurt faunus just for fun. She’d never even been able to tell off Storm’s ex-friends before she’d left Titan. She’d backed out at the last minute. But now, this was something.

“I won’t make excuses for myself,” Storm replied softly. “I know that it was wrong of me to let it all happen. I knew it was wrong then too. But I was selfish. I valued my friendship with a bunch of assholes over doing what was right. And it took hurting someone I cared about to make me realize I needed to change, when I should have already figured it out on my own. And I know I can’t just blame it on Atlas, because you grew up there too, and you know so much better.” They heaved a deep sigh. “I’m so sorry. I’m doing my best to be better, but I know I can’t fix the past.”

Astra was quiet for a moment as she thought it over. She’d honestly expected excuses; for Storm to give some kind of explanation or guilt trip for their actions, or lack thereof. But no, they’d been honest, they’d accepted all responsibility. It wasn’t something they’d have done a few months ago; she was sure of that. They really were changing.

“Okay,” She replied finally. “That’s good.” She leaned forward. “I just need you to promise me one thing.”

Storm stared at her earnestly. “Yeah?”

“Be good to Cobalt,” Astra replied simply. “He cares a lot about you. And I know what it feels like to care that much about someone.” She almost rolled her eyes as she thought of Cobalt’s pining. “If I know him, he’s not going to wait too much longer to ask you out. So listen to me,”

She leaned close to Storm. “I need to treat you like the most important person in the world. I need you to listen to him when he wants to talk, care for him when he’s not feeling great, and give him as close to the world as you can get. Understand?”

“Of course,” Storm’s reply was almost instant. “I owe him that much just for giving me a second chance. That last thing I want to do is let him down again.”

Astra nodded. “Good. Just make sure you prove it.”

“I will,” Storm confirmed. After a moment, they asked, “You and your teammates are pretty close, huh?”

“Well, one of them is literally my girlfriend,” Astra pointed out. “But…yeah.” She smiled softly. “They’re the best friends I’ve ever had.”

Storm gazed out the window. “I wish I could have been that close with mine,” They said quietly. They chuckled slightly. “Don’t get me wrong, Yarrow’s a good friend. But with the way he follows me around…” They looked sheepish. “I kind of get the feeling he has a bit of a crush on me.”

Astra couldn’t help but smirk. “Honestly, I think half of the first-years have a crush on you,” No matter her suspicions, she couldn’t deny that Storm was awfully…popular. “But hey,” She added. “Coco said you’d be getting a new teammate next semester, right? Maybe that will change things.”

Storm shrugged. “Yeah, maybe,” They frowned. “Unless it’s just another asshole.”

“Well, you’ll see, I guess.” Astra glanced across the room, no longer knowing what to say. “I should get going,” She said. “Luna will be back soon.”

“Right,” Storm looked back at her as she stood up. “Can I just…ask you a favour?”

Astra narrowed her eyes. Surely this was not the time to be asking her favours? “Yeah?”

Storm rubbed the back of their neck. “I’ve been thinking about going back to he/him pronouns. Instead of they/them, I mean. Could you let Cobalt know?”

Ah, a trans thing. Astra relaxed. That, she could do. “Sure,” She replied. “I’ll tell him when I get back.”

Storm smiled. “Thanks,” he replied. “I’ll…see you around then?”

Astra shrugged. “Yeah, okay. Just keep up what you’re learning, okay?”

Storm nodded. “I will,” He assured her. “I promise.”

With a nod, Astra turned and walked away. Cobalt had been right; the talk had helped, moreso than she thought. Part of her was unsure if she’d be able to forgive Storm anytime soon, but she knew now that he was genuine in his regret, and in his desire to be a better person. Maybe now she could finally feel more okay with seeing him get so close to Cobalt.

With that done, there was only one thing left to think about now. Astra found herself grinning. Several days, out in the field, on a real mission. This was the moment she’d been waiting for since her decision to be a huntress. After this, she’d be one step closer to the real thing.


	37. Mission Start

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The day of LLAC's first mission arrives, with an unexpected chaperone to lead them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> mission time!!! and also time for SHE

Luna was just about as nervous as she’d been for initiation. Missions were a whole new step in her training. Sure, she’d been present a couple of times when her parents had been on missions, but she’d never _participated_. And she’d certainly never led a team for one. She was already dreading the day when there’d be no trained huntsman to shadow and she’d have to be completely in charge.

She’d already chosen what mission they’d be going on. They were to locate and clear out a tiny pack of Beowolves that had nested somewhat close to a village outside of Vale before they got close enough to it to be a threat. It was simple, and there was very little chance of things going wrong, but that didn’t stop Luna from worrying.

Beside her, as Glynda and Coco began telling teams which teachers would be chaperoning them, Astra squeezed her hand.

“We’ll be fine,” She whispered. “try not to worry.”

Luna sighed. “I can’t control it,” She whispered back. “You know my brain doesn’t work that way.”

Astra shuffled closer so that their shoulders brushed. “I know,” She replied gently. “But you’ll be okay anyway. We’re all here for each other.” She grinned. “Nothing can touch us.”

Luna wasn’t convinced, but she took a deep breath and tried to calm herself down anyway. She didn’t want to ruin this for Astra by panicking the whole time.

Coco approached the team, nodding as she seemed to notice that Storm and Yarrow stood beside Cobalt. “Good, you’re all together. So, here’s the thing,”

Luna felt a worm of worry. Was something wrong? Would their mission have to be changed?

“With the number of first-years this year being as large as it is, we don’t have enough staff here to lead missions without almost completely clearing the school of them,” Coco explained. “So. each of your teams will be led by two different huntsman that are graciously dedicating their time to helping you.” She smirked, before adding, “Actually, just between us, they just owed Jaune a favour.”

Luna almost sighed out loud in relief. There was nothing wrong, then. They just weren’t being led by Beacon teachers.

“If you’re all ready to go, they’re waiting at the docks for you.” Coco finished.

Luna pulled her backpack closer around her shoulders and glanced at her team. “You guys good?” She was met by nods of agreement and a grin of enthusiasm from Astra.

As they began to head away, Luna paused as Cobalt briefly hurried back to wrap Coco in a hug.

“Be careful out there,” She heard Coco whisper. “Look after your teammates.”

“I will.” Cobalt pulled back and rejoined the team, who continued onward out of the assembly room.

Astra bounced alongside Luna, skipping lightly through the hall. “So, who do you guys think our mysterious chaperones are gonna be?”

Lily chuckled teasingly. “Hopefully someone who can handle _you_.”

Luna smiled, having a feeling that wouldn’t be a problem if her assumption was correct. She kept her mouth shut wanting to preserve the surprise.

“I hope it’s not someone too strict,” Cobalt sighed. “It’d suck if we wound up with someone who was more used to barking orders at a veteran team than handling a bunch of teenagers.”

Again, Luna didn’t think that would be an issue in the slightest.

When the group reached the docks, Luna’s suspicions were confirmed. She’d recognize the two huntsman anywhere; they were family, after all. So many times, Yang and Blake would drop her and Blaze off at their house whenever they had a mission to go to with their whole team. Nora would always let them stay up late watching TV with her own children, and Ren would make pancakes in the morning. Luna had always been happy when her own parents returned, of course, but she was always sorry to leave Ren and Nora.

Astra hadn’t been paying attention as they’d approached, but the moment the group stopped in front of the two adults, she froze on the spot as she stared at Nora. A squeal rose in her throat as if she were a kettle that had almost finished boiling.

At first, Nora didn’t seem to notice, clapping her hands and greeting the group cheerfully. “Great, you’re here! Who wants to go and kick some Grimm ass?”

At that, Astra swayed and stumbled. Luna dove to catch her girlfriend before she fell to the ground.

“Wow,” She chuckled, lifting Astra back to her feet and remembering what she’d told her back before they’d even started dating. “You weren’t kidding about the whole fainting thing, huh?”

Nora blinked at Astra. “Is uh…she okay?”

Astra seemed to recover quickly, darting right up to Nora with the widest grin Luna had ever seen her with.

“It’s such an honour to meet you!” Astra gasped. “I’ve heard so many stories about all the things you’ve done and how cool you are and I’m honestly your biggest fan!” Her words came in a tumbled mess and her eyes glowed with awe. Luna didn’t think her affection for her girlfriend could grow any more than it just had.

Nora grinned at Astra, unsurprisingly unbothered by the attention. “Biggest fan, huh?” She looked Astra up and down. “I’ll be the judge of that.” She leaned close to Astra. “What’s the name of my weapon?”

Astra scoffed. “Magnhild, obviously.”

“At what age did I become an official Huntress?”

“Nineteen.”

“How far did I make it in the 40th Vytal Festival Tournament?”

“The second round.”

Nora leaned back, nodding approvingly. “Impressive,” She smiled. “I’m still not sure you’re my _biggest_ fan though.” She turned to Ren and winked. “That title is already taken.”

Ren rolled his eyes affectionately. “Come on, let the kid have this.”

Nora placed her hands on her hips and glared at him playfully. “Are you saying you’re not?”

Ren grinned teasingly. “I never said that.”

“Hmph,” Nora turned back to face the group. “Well, I’m taking this one,” She nodded at Astra. “She seems fun.”

As Astra looked like she could almost die of excitement, Luna stepped forward with a small wave at her aunt. “That’d be my team, then.”

Nora gasped as if she’d only just noticed Luna was there. “Luna!” She embraced her niece with a warm hug, before pulling back and giving Astra another look. “Of course!” She gasped. “If this is your team, this must be Astra Katt.”

Astra squealed. “She knows who I am…” Her voice was breathless.

Nora turned to Lily. “And you must be Lily,” She noted. “I’ve heard good things about you.” She then smiled at Cobalt. “And Cobalt, of course. How’ve you been doing? Keeping Luna from stressing out too much?”

Cobalt grinned at Luna, who glared playfully back at him. “Absolutely.”

Nora glanced at Ren. “Well, you can handle the other one,” She told him. “I’ve made up my mind.”

Ren looked at Storm and Yarrow, raising an eyebrow. “Are there only two of you?”

Storm rubbed the back of his neck, looking awkward. “Yeah, uh, the other two members of our team weren’t…really suited to being students here.”

Ren nodded. “I see. This may complicate things a little, but I’m sure we can make it work.”

Luna looked over as the bullheads that were docked started whirring up, ready to lift off. Nora glanced at them too.

“Well!” The ginger-haired huntress announced. “Time to get going! You all ready?”

“Whoo!” Astra pumped her fists in the air. “Let’s do this!”

Before following the team to the bullhead, Luna watched Nora turn to Ren and gently grab his hands.

“Promise me you’ll be okay?” She asked softly.

“You know I will,” Ren’s reply was just as soft. “Where this concern coming from? We’ve gone on separate missions before.”

Nora chuckled, though it almost sounded forced to Luna. “I know that,” She replied. “I’m just making sure.”

Ren planted a gentle kiss on her forehead. “I’ll be fine.” He promised.

As Nora turned to head towards the bullhead, Luna snapped her gaze away, feeling bad for eavesdropping, seeing Cobalt do the same, though she had a feeling that Cobalt would have heard them even if he hadn’t been meaning to.

“Alright, you four,” Nora grinned cheerfully at the team as she boarded, as if her gentle worry for Ren earlier had been nonexistent. “You ready for your first mission?”

Astra clung to Luna’s arm in excitement. “I have never been more excited about _anything_.” She insisted. Luna found herself wishing she could kiss her on the forehead as Ren had done to Nora, but held back. They simply weren’t there yet.

“Quick disclaimer,” Nora announced as the Bullhead began taking off. “I’m no teacher and I’ve never led a bunch of teenagers on an official mission before,” There was Nora’s good old bluntness. “But I do know a thing or two about fighting and I’d say I’m pretty good with kids, sooo this should be great!”

Luna was almost ready to dismiss the concern she’s seen the older woman show before, until she heard her whisper under her breath,

“Gods, I hope they’ll be okay.”

Luna replied without thinking. “Hey, they’ll be fine. April and Li have been in charge by themselves before, right?”

Nora looked startled, as if she hadn’t expected anyone to have heard her. “Of course,” She smiled at Luna and chuckled. “I was just thinking out loud, don’t worry about it. It’s only a mother’s instinct to worry about her kids.”

 _Yeah, but you usually don’t._ Luna replied quietly, somewhat confused. Nora cared about her children more deeply and strongly than most parents Luna had ever seen, but she also seemed to have complete and total faith in their capabilities. It wasn’t like her to stress about leaving them to house-sit, just like it wasn’t like her to worry so openly about Ren being separated from her.

She shrugged it off. Maybe Nora was just worried about leading a team for the first time, and it was making her anxious about everything else as well. If that were the case, Luna couldn’t blame her. They’d begun the mission, the bullhead heading away from the school. There was no going back.

Then she felt Astra cling to her arm again and rest against her shoulder as she gazed down at the view below. Luna let herself relax a little. She had her girlfriend, her team, and one of the most capable fighters she’d ever known with her. Everything would be fine, she had to convince herself of that. A good leader had to remain level-headed, especially on missions. This was no time to be anxious.


	38. Learning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As their mission continues, team LLAC learn even more than expected.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DOUBLE UPDATE BABY!!!! in fact, the next few updates will probably be doubles!! anyway enjoy a reveal i've been waiting for for ages

Cobalt watched the trees pass by below as he held onto a bar that hung from the top of the bullhead and looked down at the slightly blurred landscape. It was nice being up this high; there was something different about flying out of town on his first mission than there was just flying to Patch or over the city. He kept a straight face, but excitement couldn’t help but bubble inside him as he thought about what the mission entailed if they completed it. Not that they _wouldn’t_ , of course. There was a very small chance that tracking and getting rid of a few basic Grimm could go wrong.

He glanced at the others. Lily was sitting on the other side of the aircraft, looking out the other window, while Luna stood near him, Astra clinging to her arm, bouncing excitedly until Luna reminded her that they were hundreds of feet in the air. Nora sat across from Lily, her long hair blowing in the wind. Cobalt would have expected her to look as excited as she’d seemed before, but her eyes were half-closed, and her cheeks were pale. Cobalt’s ears twitched in concern. Was she feeling airsick? Nora Valkyrie, of all people? That was even weirder than the way she’d been acting before, when she’d been saying goodbye to Ren, and then again when she’d brought up her kids.

 _Maybe she’s feeling her age,_ He thought to himself. Then he felt stupid; she couldn’t have been. His own parents were a year older than her, and as active as ever. They still went on missions when they had the time. And Nora was _Nora_. There was no way she was nearing the point where she’d have to retire. Cobalt could imagine her still fighting when she was 80.

Of course, he couldn’t completely blame her for worrying about her children. He had a feeling that she wasn’t just worried they’d get into trouble while she was gone- she was probably worried about the worst case scenario of the mission. Sometimes, parents went on missions and never came back.

 _Idiot,_ he cursed himself, tensing. _Don’t think about that. Don’t think about him._

He pushed the memory away and turned his attention to the landscape again. Ahead, he could see a town approaching, and felt the bullhead begin to descend. This was the town they were protecting, then. It looked fairly large for a town outside of Remnant, large enough that a few Beowolves probably wouldn’t have affected them too badly, assuming the town had regular game hunters or law enforcement around. Luna had certainly picked a good first mission.

The aircraft landed in a clear area right on the edge of the town, though it didn’t halt completely, the rotors still running. Cobalt watched as Nora jolted herself up, getting to her feet.

“Alrighty everyone, grab your bags and let’s go,” She ordered, her tone chipper even though her face still looked pale. “We’ve got a mission to start.”

Shortly after the group left it, the aircraft took off again. Cobalt watched its shape grow smaller until it disappeared behind the trees of the forest. They were on their own now.

Luna looked around, first at the town, then the forest. “Where do we go now?” She asked. “Do we just…go in there and start looking?”

Nora shook her head. “Nope,” She replied. “We’d do that if this were a more urgent situation, but the first thing we should do in this case is to talk to the town’s mayor and get a proper assessment of the situation.”

Luna looked slightly embarrassed. “Right. That makes more sense.”

Cobalt gave her shoulder a pat. “Hey, you wouldn’t have known that.” He assured her. “The whole point of us being here is to learn, not to lead the mission ourselves.”

Luna shook herself and looked more determined. “Right. Let’s find the council building.”

“Whoo!” Astra wrapped Luna in a hug. “That’s my girl, being all confident.” Luna blushed in response.

Nora peered into the town. “I’m pretty sure I’ve been here before,” She told the group. “If I remember correctly, the mayor’s building is around here.”

Lily followed her gaze. “There’s a signpost,” She noted. “Maybe that’ll point us in the right direction?”

Nora grinned at her. “Oh hey, good eye!”

Cobalt and the rest of the group followed her along the dirt track to the signpost. Sure enough, one of the posts pointed to the mayor’s building; an old, but large wooden building not too far away.

As the group entered, a young woman looked up at them from where she sat behind a desk at an old computer.

“Oh! You’re not from around here,” She noted. “Are you here to see the mayor?”

Nora nodded. “We heard you had a Grimm problem. We’re here to help, from Vale.”

“Of course,” The woman leaned back in her seat and turned to call through a doorway behind her. “Sir! The huntsman you requested from Vale are here!”

A moment later, an older man walked through the door with a friendly look on his face. “Ah, good to see you,” He greeted them. “There are more of you than I thought.”

“These four are students from Beacon,” Nora motioned to Team LLAC. “They’re here for their first mission.”

“Ah, I see,” The mayor replied, nodding. “Well, this shouldn’t be too difficult. Some of our hunters noticed Beowolf tracks in the forest a few days ago. Not close, but we’d like to have them dealt with anyway, just in case.”

Nora didn’t respond and instead glanced at Luna. Cobalt gave her an encouraging nudge as he realized Nora probably wanted to give her a chance to test her leadership skills.

Luna glanced at Cobalt, then back at the mayor. “Oh, uh- do you know how many there were?”

Cobalt gave her another pat on the shoulder as Nora nodded approvingly.

“Oh, seems to be three at the most,” The mayor responded. “Nothing a trained huntress and a team of students can’t handle.”

Luna gave a quick nod. “All right,” Thank you.”

As they left the building, Nora smiled at Luna.

“Good job back there,” She praised. “Way better than how Jaune acted on our first mission,” She chuckled. “He had absolutely no idea what he was doing. Pyrrha had to ask all the questions for him.”

Cobalt flashed Luna a thumbs-up as Astra gave her another hug.

“Okay, well,” Nora announced. “Looks like we’re going in. Hope you guys know how to light a fire because we’re probably going to be staying the night in there.”

At that, Luna looked terrified. Cobalt felt a pang of pity for her, and slightly shared her alarm- he didn’t exactly want to spend the night in a forest either.

“I know how,” Lily replied to Nora’s question. “I’ve been camping with my mother a few times before.” Well, that was good, at least. Two people with experience at being in a forest overnight were better than one.

“Great!” Nora spun on her heel to face the trees. “Let’s go and destroy some monsters!”

The group spent the next few hours stumbling through the trees and foliage as their hunt began, keeping their eyes open for any signs of Grimm. Tracks, broken branches, trampled foliage; anything that would indicate the presence of another creature.

Astra was certainly enjoying herself, getting excited at just about any animal she saw that she’d not already encountered in Atlas, which was almost all of them. Luna and Lily had to remind her to stay quiet several times, though neither of them seemed especially annoyed, and Luna’s eyes sparkled with affection every time her girlfriend chased after another squirrel.

Aside from the occasional word of advice and reminder for the teens to stay close to her, Nora stayed oddly quiet, instead displaying an uncharacteristic cautiousness, her eyes darting around the undergrowth and each step carefully placed. If a twig were to snap too loudly, she’d jump slightly, sometimes even reaching for Magnhild. Luna was acting much the same, but that was normal. _This_ was not normal, not from what Cobalt knew about Nora. There was something familiar about her behaviour, but he couldn’t place it, and eventually turned his attention back to the mission.

When the sun was low enough on the horizon that in flared right into the group’s eyes, Nora stopped them in a small clearing.

“I think we should make camp for the night,” She announced. “We won’t be able to find much of anything once it gets dark.” She glanced at Lily with a grin. “Ready to prove you can make that fire?”

As Lily piled dry logs and sticks together in the middle of the clearing, Cobalt laid out the sleeping bag he’d brought for the mission, hoping it didn’t attract any bugs while he was sleeping.

After a few tries, Lily managed to spark a flame on her pile. By the time the sun sunk below the horizon, a healthy flame was going, filling the area with warmth and light.

“Okay, did you all bring food?” Nora asked as the team sat close to the fire’s heat. “I don’t know about the rest of you, but my stomach is yelling at me to eat right now.”

Cobalt smiled. That was more like the Nora he knew. “Coco gave me sandwiches this morning,” He announced, diving into his bag. “Fox and Yatsu made enough for everyone, just in case.”

“I’ve got water bottles.” Luna added.

As Cobalt began passing sandwiches around, Astra brought out somewhat-squished muffins, while Lily unboxed carefully-packed apples. While still staying on guard in case of Grimm, the group managed to relax as they ate their fill and struck up campfire conversations.

“So Lily,” Astra asked. “Tell me about your camping adventures.”

Cobalt leaned forward. “Hey, yeah, you never told us you’d been camping before.”

Lily chuckled slightly. “It’s really not that exciting,” She replied. “We mostly went to areas specifically reserved for camping, not fully out in the wild like this.”

“I can’t imagine having to regularly do this,” Luna sighed. “It sounds like a nightmare.”

Nora grinned teasingly at her, on her third sandwich of the night. “I’m afraid you’re going to have to get used to that,” She pointed out. “A lot of missions are going to require camping, sometimes in much rougher conditions than this.”

Luna tilted her head back, eyes closed. “I know,” She groaned. “I’m just not looking forward to it.

Nora finished the sandwich. “You get used to it after a while,” She explained. “After Beacon fell, almost every night for us was spent in the middle of nowhere, even in the snow and rain.” She gave a half-smile. “And even before Beacon, not having a good place to rest was pretty common for me.”

Guilt washed over Luna’s face as an awkward silence fell. “You’re right,” She replied after a moment. “I shouldn’t have complained.”

Nora chuckled warmly. “Hey, don’t worry about it. It was a long time ago. I’m just warning you for the future. It’s just one of the sacrifices it takes to be a huntsman.” She glanced around, before asking abruptly, “Are there any muffins left?”

Luna blinked at her. “Haven’t you already eaten three full sandwiches?”

Nora shrugged. “Can’t help being hungry.” She caught a muffin as Astra tossed one to her.

Cobalt stared at her as she pulled the wrapper away, curiosity biting at him more than ever. Nora was known for having a large appetite, but even this was a lot. Adding on to everything else, something was definitely going on with her. The way she was acting almost reminded Cobalt of when Coco had been- _wait_. He froze. Of course, it all made sense now. Nora’s unusually high concern for Ren and her children, the airsickness, her cautiousness, and now the appetite.

“Oh shit,” He realized out loud. “You’re pregnant.”

Cobalt’s teammates stared. Nora stopped before she could take a bite of her muffin, then lowered it with a soft chuckle.

“How’d you figure it out, huh?”

Cobalt smiled gently. “It took me a bit, but I realized that you were acting a lot like Coco was when she was expecting the twins.” Except Coco had also been way grumpier as well. And would then apologize profusely for being grumpy. It had been very odd for her.

“Of course,” Luna stared at Nora. “That explains everything. I _knew_ you were acting weird.”

Nora smiled wryly. “Guess I haven’t really been hiding it well.” She picked at the muffin.

Cobalt leaned forward, even more curious now. “So, how far along are you?”

Nora pulled off a piece of muffin and ate it. “About two months, I think.”

“If it’s okay to ask,” Lily asked. “Why risk the mission?” She shuffled her feet, looking awkward to be questioning a well-known older huntress. “It just seems like you’d rather be relaxing at home right now.”

“Okay, first of all,” Nora pointed out. “This is nowhere near as bad as it gets. Compared to later, this is a walk in the park. And second,” She ate more of the muffin. “I only found out last night.”

Cobalt’s ears shot up in surprise. “Really? Two months, and you didn’t realize sooner?”

“Hey, give me a break!” Nora shot back with mock defensiveness. “It’s been sixteen years since the last time. I honestly thought I was just getting old.” She blinked. “Actually, I thought I was _already_ too old. This…” She sighed. “Was not exactly something I planned for.”

She made a good point, Cobalt realized. He wouldn’t call her _old_ , but it was still pretty unusual for people her age to get pregnant without intending to. It would probably be too easy to imagine that a missed cycle was just a result of reaching your age.

“Aw, this is so cute though!” Astra piped up for the first time since the conversation had begun. “You and Ren must be really happy!”

“I’m surprised he even let you come today.” Luna added with a short laugh.

Nora looked away, rubbing her shoulder awkwardly. “There’s a uh…slight chance you four are the only ones who know.”

Luna stared at her, eyes wide. “ _What?_ You haven’t even told Ren?”

“I didn’t know how to bring it up,” Nora explained, still looking awkward. “It would’ve started a long discussion and he probably would have made me stay home. I didn’t want to let Coco or Jaune down.”

Luna smirked suddenly. “You know he’s gonna be mad at you, right?”

Nora huffed in amusement. “For a bit. Before he starts bawling his eyes out.” She sighed, affection clear on her face. “I’ll tell him right after the mission, don’t worry.”

“Well, until then,” Cobalt pointed out. “You should probably take it easy.”

“He’s right,” Luna added, crossing her arms and sitting up taller. “As team leader, I’m ordering that you stick to helping us track and giving us advice. No Grimm fighting.”

Nora laughed. “You should like Jaune. But yes, all right. I’ll leave the fighting to you kids.” She thought for a moment, before adding, “Unless you get into too much trouble.”

Luna looked satisfied. “That’s fair.”

As the fire began to die down, Lily offered to take first watch in case of any Grimm attacks, while Cobalt and the others settled into their sleeping bags. It wasn’t the most comfortable, but Cobalt didn’t complain. At the very least, it was the beginning of summer, and the air was slightly warm as he drifted off.

He reminded himself not to be disappointed by today’s lack of progress. There wasn’t much to be expected of such a simple mission, after all. With any luck, tomorrow would be better, and everything would go smoothly. It wouldn’t be like his father’s last mission. The circumstances were completely different; there was no threat.

It didn’t stop the nightmares and memories filling his sleep that night.


	39. Branching Out

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> LLAC's first mission continues and comes to a head.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> our second double update!! i'm not sure if the next one will be; it'll depend on how quickly i can figure out what to do with the next few chapters,,,
> 
> also tw for mention of forced abortion !! also also if you guys think there's anything else in this fic that i should go and tw please let me know

Lily wouldn’t have said that she wasn’t a morning person. She was, however, a person that did not like being woken up and sent trudging through a forest on a summer morning.

Nora had insisted that they had no time to lose when it came to looking for these Grimm. Lily had wanted to be annoyed with her personally, but it was easy to imagine that she wanted to get back to Ren as soon as possible. Besides, it was probably best that they find the Beowolves quicker anyway.

All the same, it didn’t stop Lily from being tired and cranky when they’d been looking for two or three hours now and had still not found them.

“Are we sure those hunters didn’t just see a big cat or something?” She asked dryly. “Because I don’t think a plain old Beowolf is _this_ good at staying hidden.”

Astra bounced up beside her. “Aw, lighten up Lily!” She chirped. “I know we haven’t found anything yet, but we’re still learning!”

Lily rolled her eyes. “Right, of course. Learning is _so much_ fun.” She caught Astra frowning at her and sighed. “Sorry,” She managed. “I’m tired. And honestly, I expected less…tedious work.”

Nora grinned over her shoulder at her. “Sorry to disappoint you,” She chuckled. “But this is a good two-thirds of what huntsman work is. Boring stuff.” She shrugged. “The other three always liked it. I never have.” She grinned. “But hey, helping people is helping people.”

For a moment, Lily wondered what she meant by ‘the other three’, until she remembered that Nora’s team had once been more than just her, Jaune, and Ren. A small part of her whispered, _does she hold anything against my mother too? Does she partially blame her for Pyrrha?_ She shook her head slightly. _No,_ she reminded herself. _None of them do. Jaune already told you that._

She remembered what her mother had told her once about Nora, that she’d been one of the first to start to reach out to and trust her after she’d left Salem. Like Emerald, Nora had been an orphan as well. She’d sympathized with Emerald and admitted that she could have ended up in the same position had she not found Ren instead. Lily forced herself to put away her paranoia. Things weren’t as she’d always thought. It was fine.

“Hey!”

Lily was jerked out of her thoughts by Luna’s call. She was standing by a thick holly bush, staring into the dirt. “I think I’ve found something.”

The group joined her by the bush. In the earth where she was looking were traces of large, splayed paw prints, too large to be from any kind of cat or canine. Looking up slightly, Lily also noticed that some branches of the holly bush were snapped and broken, as if a large creature had blundered past it.

Nora inspected the tracks. “Yep, those are from a Beowolf,” She confirmed. “They look a couple of days old though.”

Cobalt frowned. “Does that mean they could have wandered too far away for us to find them today?”

 _Oh, please no._ Lily begged inwardly.

Nora straightened up and looked thoughtful. “Not necessarily. Beowolf packs tend to stay within one area; they don’t roam like most other Grimm.”

“Right,” Luna added. “And if they’ve been spotted several times in this forest over the past few days, that means they’re probably still hanging around.”

Nora glanced around. “I saw more broken branches about half an hour ago,” She told the group. “They could have just been from an animal, but it seems more likely now that it was one of the Grimm.” She sighed and added quietly enough so that Lily could barely hear, “At least, I hope so.”

Astra grinned. “Great!” She gave a little hop. “Let’s go and kill them!”

Nora smiled at her. “I like the way you think, kid.”

As they set off again, Lily found herself watching Nora. Even despite what they’d found out last night, she was still surprised by the older huntress’ more cautious attitude. When she’d first met her, she would have expected her to be more like Astra; excitable and bouncy, ready to dive headfirst into action. But while Nora still kept up a cheery demeanor, she’d been more hesitant, and almost nervous in the way she constantly glanced around. Were it anyone else, Lily wouldn’t think anything of it, but in Nora’s case, she wouldn’t have expected even something like pregnancy to hold her back.

She sped up to walk beside Luna, figuring that if anyone had an explanation, it would be her. Nora would have been like an aunt to her, after all.

“Hey,” She kept her voice down. “Can I ask you something about Nora?”

Luna glanced ahead at Nora, then back at her. “Sure, what’s up?”

“She’s just acting…” Lily searched for the right word. “…Different than what I was expecting. Which I kind of get, but two months isn’t that far. I’ve seen other people be active while pregnant for way longer.” After all, her own mother had been working for several months while expecting her, and probably would have done so for even longer had she not been fired. Although, truck driving was probably a lot safer than huntsman work.

Luna gave her a curious look. “Weren’t you say last night that she should’ve thought twice before coming?”

“Yeah,” Lily replied. “But from what I’ve heard about her, I would have thought she’d be doing her job for as long as she could before stopping, no matter what anyone else said.”

Luna stared at Nora for a moment, her face creasing with concern. “Yeah, well…she has good reason to be hesitant. More than most.”

Lily felt a prick of curiosity. “Why’s that?” Luna looked uncertain, and Lily quickly added, “It’s okay, you don’t have to tell me. I’m sure it’s not my business.”

Luna sighed. “No, it’s just…” She cast another uncertain glance at Nora, before lowering her voice further. “The first time she was pregnant was at the same time Yang was with me,” She explained. “She went on a mission with Ren at five months and encountered a group of bandits. They noticed, and…”

Lily felt a hollow feeling in her gut as she realized what Luna was getting at. “Oh.” She whispered.

Luna’s face was washed in sympathy. “Nora almost died…the baby wasn’t as lucky.”

Lily didn’t even know what to say. She stared at Nora, sorrow coursing through her for this woman she barely knew. “That’s…horrible.” She’d often privately thought of having a family herself one day. The idea of what Nora would have gone through wasn’t something she thought she’d be able to bear herself.

“It crushed her,” Luna explained, staring at the ground as she walked. “She didn’t leave her bed for weeks, didn’t eat, barely drank anything. Nobody could console her. When she got her second chance with the twins, she barely left the house.” She looked back at Nora. “She yeah. I can’t really blame her for being so cautious.”

Lily was about to reply when she noticed Cobalt right in front of her and stopped walking before she crashed onto him.

“Why did you-”

“Shh,” Cobalt hushed her urgently. His gaze was focused as his ears twitched. “I can hear something. Something big.”

Luna stared at him as Astra and Nora turned to look as well. “The Beowolves?”

“I think so,” Cobalt replied quietly. His ears angled slightly to their left. “Just up ahead. There’s more than one.”

Nora’s eyes narrowed. “Good.” She started forward, but Luna stepped in front of her.

“I’ll lead,” She stated. “You won’t be fighting unless you have to, remember?”

Nora nodded. “Right.”

Lily found herself at Nora’s side as they walked, now wanting to help protect her as best she could. It seemed odd to her, at first, that she’d feel such a strong desire to guard someone she barely knew, especially someone who was far more capable than her. Then again, that was part of being a huntsman- protecting anyone however you could.

They pushed through the trees until Luna stopped at the edge of a slope that dipped down into a deeper part of the forest. Among the trees, three large shapes ambled around in the low light. As one of them moved into a patch of sunshine that shone through the trees. Lily froze.

“Those are-”

“Alphas,” Luna finished, eyes narrowing. “The mayor didn’t mention that.”

Astra pulled Light of the Party from her back and extended it to full-length, slamming her fist on the yellow button to extend nasty spikes from either end. “What’s the plan?” She whispered to Luna, looking fully ready to launch herself down there and start macing the huge monsters.

“The team attack,” Luna whispered back. She separated Striking Shadow into its two halves and passed one to Cobalt. “Line them up as best you can. Nora can stay to the side in case we need her.”

Lily stared dubiously at the hard spikes of bone that almost covered all three Grimm. “Are you sure it’ll be able to get all three?”

“Maybe not,” Lily replied, “But even if we can just get one at a time, it should be fine. Let’s go.”

She leaped down the slope. Lily pulled Evening Jade from their holsters and rushed down alongside her team, keeping herself in front of Nora. Time to complete the mission.

She fired off a few rounds, immediately catching the Beowolves’ attention. The bullets bounced off their hides like it was nothing to them, not even leaving a mark behind. It did, however, seem to annoy them. They each let out bellowing roars as they turned on the group and charged.

Lily dove around a tree to avoid one as it came for her, firing more bullets that still barely did anything. Through the trees, she watched as Astra tried to swing at another one, only for it to move out of the way and the mace to collide with a tree, sending splinter of bark everywhere.

Lily’s bullets were only succeeding in pissing her Beowolf off, and it was chasing her much more than she was herding it. Looking around, she could see that the other two were doing the same, splitting up rather than grouping together.

She almost ran into a tree in her effort to avoid the Beowolf as it swiped at her with massive claws. _Shit._

“Luna!” She called. “It isn’t going to work; they’re too smart!”

Luna glanced at her as she and Cobalt both tried to stab the third Beowulf with their weapons. It shook them away with a snarl and snapped at Cobalt, missing him by an inch as he leaped away.

“She’s right!” He told Luna urgently, tossing the half of Striking Shadow that he held back to her. “We need a new plan!”

Lily could see Luna’s mind racing. She was clearly trying not to panic.

The Beowolf charged at her again, and she ducked behind another tree, her heart pounding. As she turned and fired more rounds, it advanced on her. As it opened its jaws and lunged, something flew into its side and it turned, roaring with pain as Cobalt leaped over and pulled the object- Lily realized it was Stoneheart- out again. It still barely seemed weakened.

As Lily backed up, she noticed Luna and Astra were right by her. The Beowolves had turned their plan around on them, corralling them into one group.

“Now would be a good time for that new plan, Luna.” She hissed, standing back-to-back with her.

Luna narrowed her eyes. “Right.” She called to Astra, who was swinging desperately at the air in an effort to keep a Beowolf back. “Astra! Get up a tree! Cobalt, you too!”

“What about me?” Lily asked as Astra and Cobalt dodged past the Beowolves and began to scale the thickly-branches trees.

“Guard Nora,” Luna instructed her. “And don’t draw attention to her.”

 _So, I’ll be doing nothing,_ Lily thought privately. She pushed the thought away. Protecting people _was_ something. With a quick nod to Luna, she bounded away. Luna poked at the third Beowolf to draw its attention from her, allowing her to get to Nora with it noticing, before climbing a tree of her own.

“Are you sure you don’t need help?” Nora asked as Lily joined her. She noticed that she’d drawn Magnhild.

“I think we’re okay,” Lily replied, watching her teammates climb. “Luna’s come up with something.”

“Get as high as you can!” Luna called to Astra and Cobalt. “They won’t be able to follow us. If we can aim right, we can use the momentum of a jump from this height to drive our weapons in deeper.”

The Beowolves were snapping at the base of the trees like dogs after cats. Lily tensed, though she knew these Grimm weren’t exactly the best at climbing. It was all she could to not to instinctively fire at them, though she kept her weapons aimed, just in case.

She watched Luna pull herself onto another branch, the snarling and howling of the Beowolves filling her head. It was killing her not to actively do anything.

As Luna steadied herself and stood to reach higher, Lily froze, noticing the way the branch was joined to the trunk. In her years of plant studying, she’d seen that kind of join before. It was splintered, weak. It wouldn’t hold Luna’s weight. And she was up much too high for a fall, with an Alpha Beowolf waiting at the bottom.

Lily’s blood ran cold. She needed to warm her but doing so would attract the Beowolf’s attention to her. To Nora. Something Luna had specifically ordered her not to do. Maybe it would be fine. Maybe she’d get to the next branch before this one broke. Maybe-

The branch snapped. Luna screamed as she fell towards the Grimm’s waiting jaws, Striking Shadow falling from her grip.

“ _Luna!_ ”

Lily lurched forward, desperately reaching out as Luna fell through the air. At her movement, something changed on the tree’s trunk. What had been a small offshoot suddenly shot out, thickening to full size, leaves flaring everywhere.

Luna hit the new branch with a thud, scrambling to grab a hold of it. She was much lower down now, winded but okay. The Beowolf stopped snapping, before backing up slowly, its bright yellow eyes fixed on Luna. It was going to jump.

With no time to process what had happened with the branch, Lily flicked Evening Jade into blade form, glancing back at Nora. At the older woman’s nod, she launched herself forward, running, jumping, and landing squarely on the Beowolf, sinking the blades deep into its hide. With a roar of agony, it turned with a lunge, throwing her off, doing more damage to itself as Evening Jade was torn roughly away from it.

Lily tore up grass as she landed heavily, the breath thrown out of her. The Beowolf’s attention was away from Luna now and fully on her, stalking towards her with a snarl. Lily scrambled backwards, trying to get back to her feet. The Beowolf prepared to lunge, but a yell from Luna caught its attention as she appeared from behind, jumping and shoving her spear into its back.

As it howled in pain, and shook Luna off, Lily got to her feet. She prepared to shoot at it again now that it was weakened, but there was no need. A loud shot sounded, and a cloud of pink grenades descended upon it. The monster exploded into a cloud of pink and black, and Lily glanced back to see Nora lowering Magnhild with a grin.

One down, two to go.

Still hearing fighting, Lily turned to see Astra and Cobalt wrangling with a Beowolf each, both of the remaining Grimm clearly weakened. Exchanging a nod, Lily and Luna rushed forward to help their teammates finished them off. Lily dug her blades into Cobalt’s, and Luna threw her spear at Astra’s. Each blow finished them off.

As the smoke of the defeated Beowolves faded away, silence filled the forest, aside from heavy panting from all four members of the team. With a loud groan, Astra flopped dramatically onto the grass.

Cobalt looked around, his eyes widening. “We did it.” He gasped.

Astra’s head shot up, her energy seemingly returning in an instant. “ _We did it!_ ”

“Congratulations, Team LLAC,” Nora announced as she joined them, pride clear on her face. “You’ve completed your first official huntsman mission.”

Lily felt dizzy, her head still spinning from the chaos. They’d really done it.

The forest was quiet for a moment more, before Luna let out a gasp.

“Holy shit! Lily!”

Lily glanced at her. “Huh?”

Luna’s hands were on her head as she stared at her, lavender eyes wide and amazed. “You unlocked your Semblance!”

Lily stared. “I…what?”

Luna waved her hands at the tree she’d been in. “The branch didn’t come from nowhere! _You_ did that!” Her gaze fell to the broken branch that she’d fallen from. “And you…saved my life.”

Astra gasped at Luna. “Oh shit, you almost died!” She flew over and wrapped Luna in a hug so tight she was almost knocked off her feet. “I’m so glad you’re okay!” Letting go, she turned to Lily, her eyes sparkling. “Lily, you saved Luna with your Semblance!”

Lily’s legs felt like they wouldn’t hold her. She sat down with a thud, her head spinning even more. _I…unlocked my Semblance?_

“I…are we sure it wasn’t just a trick of the light?” She couldn’t let herself believe it so quickly. “Maybe it was already there…”

Cobalt gave a chuckle. “Come on, we all saw it. It was definitely not that big before you reached out like that.”

“And hey,” Nora pointed out. “If you’re not sure, why don’t you try again?”

Lily blinked. She gazed at the grass she was sitting on before slowly, hesitantly, running her hand over the smooth blades. They grew, stretching up until they were twice their height, and even seeming a little brighter than they had before, the blemishes on some of the fronds vanishing.

“Wow…” Astra breathed.

Lily stared. Her heart caught in her throat. She really had saved Luna’s life. She’d grown that branch, and this grass. _She’d unlocked her Semblance_. Tears welled in the corners of her eyes. “I…I can’t believe this…” After all these years.

She sniffed, finding a wide grin spreading across her face as tears fell over her cheeks. “I unlocked my Semblance.” She’d waited eighteen years to be able to say those words.

Astra dropped to her knees beside her. “Is this a hug-worthy moment?”

Through awed sniffles, Lily managed to nod. Astra wrapped her arms around her, and Luna and Cobalt kneeled to join them. Lily didn’t even feel bad about crying. She made no attempt to stop.

She’d always liked plants. Always felt connected to them. She’d _named_ herself after one. But for the connection to go this deep…she couldn’t have expected it. She could grow them. She could control them, heal them. What better power could she have asked for?

She’d saved her friend’s life, unlocked her Semblance, successfully completed her first mission. _You did it, Lily,_ a small voice whispered in her head. _You did it._


	40. Assurance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Despite successfully completing the mission, Astra doubts herself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> next one of the double update!! a bit less exciting than the last one rip ;;;

Astra should have been more excited. Outwardly, she was, as everyone expected her to be. They’d won, after all! They’d completed their first mission, and nobody had even gotten hurt!

You know, except for the fact that Luna could have died if Lily hadn’t unlocked her Semblance in time to save her.

 _And what if she hadn’t?_ She asked herself inwardly. _What then?_

She’d been totally helpless. Her girlfriend could have died, and she wouldn’t have been able to do _anything_ to help.

 _You should have,_ she scolded herself. _You should have done something._

She was happy for Lily. Really, she was. It was amazing that she’d been able to do what she’d worked her whole life for, especially when it was such a cool power. And it was good to see her happy, skipping along and growing flowers on just about every bush she passed as the group made their way back to the village. All the same, Astra cursed herself for not doing more. She hadn’t been able to track the Grimm like Luna and Cobalt had, she hadn’t done anything amazing like Lily. She hadn’t even been able to take down one of the Beowolves on her own. Luna had needed to finish it off for her.

Still, she kept a smile on her face and a bounce in her step as she walked. They’d completed the mission. That was what really mattered.

“Hey,” Beside Astra, Luna nudged her softly. “What’s wrong?”

Astra forced her smile to be wider. “Nothing! Why would you think something was wrong?”

Despite the concerned look on her face, Luna lifted an eyebrow. “You can’t trick my Semblance, Astra. You’re upset.”

 _Shit._ Astra had forgotten about that. There was no point in pretending to be fine around someone who could literally read emotions. “Don’t worry about it,” She insisted, her voice low to avoid being heard by the others. “It’s nothing.”

“We’ve just completed our first-ever huntsman mission and you’re feeling bad,” Luna pointed out. “That’s not nothing.”

Astra sighed. Luna was too smart for her. She looked away. “It’s just that…I didn’t really do anything.” She admitted. “Everyone had a part to play in this mission but me. I was useless.”

“Hey,” Luna tucked her arm around Astra’s and pulled her closer as they walked. “That’s not true at all. You took on an Alpha Beowolf completely on your own,” She reminded her. “You did great.”

Astra frowned. “But _you_ had to deal the final blow.”

“Only because there was no point letting the fight drag out longer,” Luna insisted. “I know you could have handled it. You’re an incredible fighter. Remember how you beat up Birch?”

Astra couldn’t help but smile even as she protested. “Yeah, but he’s pathetic and dumb.” It _had_ been fun though. She’d admit to that much. “Even literally thoughtless Grimm are more of a challenge.”

Luna chuckled. “Okay, fair,” She pulled herself even closer and leaned slightly against Astra’s shoulder. “You’re still amazing though. Don’t forget that.”

Astra didn’t reply, not wanting to fight her on it. Luna was sweet enough that she’d have something nice to say even if it wasn’t true. She knew that she’d probably still be picking up on her low feelings, but she thankfully didn’t push it. She simply remained close to Astra. That, at least, comforted her a little.

Luna remained at her side all the way until they reached the town, after which she squeezed her hand and left to join Nora in telling the mayor that the job had been completed. Astra waited outside with Cobalt and Lily for their transport to arrive and pick them up.

Lily was crouched close to the dirt paths like a curious kid, and every time she found a stray seed, she’d grow a tiny shoot from it. Sometimes it was a flower, or wheat, or an unknown leafy plant. Admittedly, Astra found it endearing to watch. She’d never seen Lily this…joyful before. Her energy was almost as high as Astra’s usually was, even right after finishing a tough battle.

By the time Luna and Nora came back out of the mayor’s office, the edge of the path was filled with various plants for up to several feet.

“Wow,” Nora chuckled, taking care not to step on any. “Someone’s been busy.”

“It’s really interesting to see all the different kinds of seeds that get dropped along here,” Lily responded, studying what looked like the start of a shrub. “I think I even found some potato plants.”

“Well, if it’s potatoes you want, maybe you can buy some now,” Luna commented.

The other three looked up at her quizzically. Luna grinned and flashed up a handful of lien. “Can you believe it?” She asked, her eyes glowing. “Out first payment as huntsman!”

“You’re lucky, too,” Nora added. “Most places don’t pay students for it.” She chuckled slightly. “I think he felt bad for not realizing they were Alphas.”

As Luna divided up the payment, Astra tried to force herself to feel better. She wasn’t being fair to anyone by moping around like this, even if only Luna could tell. And hey, money was always good. She already had an idea of what to spend her share on.

Lily grew a few more plants before the whirring of blades announced the Bullhead as it flew in from beyond the trees and landed where it had dropped the group off the day before. Astra followed the group to board it and sat by the window. As the aircraft took off again, Lily’s plants blurred into tiny specks.

Astra gazed down at the trees as they flew over the forest where they’d just been. It seemed so much smaller now than when she’d been down there on foot. Had even the work they’d done to search for the Grimm not been that much?

“Hey, kid,”

Astra almost jumped as Nora came over and sat beside her. The small rush of excitement was almost enough to push away her disappointment in herself. Almost.

“You did good out there.” Nora told her.

Astra stared at tried not to squeal at the praise from her biggest inspiration. “Oh, thank- wait,” She cast a suspicious glance over at Luna, who looked away the moment she did. “Are you just saying that because Luna told you to?”

Nora looked awkward. “Whaaaattt, nooo…” She sighed. “Okay, yes.” She offered Astra a smile. “But hey, I still mean it. You’ve got a strong fighting style. And I’m not just saying that because of who it was clearly inspired by.”

The words should have comforted Astra, given that it was _Nora Valkyrie_ saying them, but she still felt defeated. “Thanks,” She replied, pulling her knees up to her chin. “But you don’t have to be so nice. I still didn’t really…. _do_ anything.”

“Well, that’s just ridiculous,” Nora replied bluntly. Astra stared at her.

“You did plenty,” Nora elaborated. “When everyone else was feeling tired, you kept spirits up, and when we found the Grimm, you were ready and willing to head into battle the moment your leader gave the word.”

Astra hadn’t considered that. “I guess.” That was just…normal stuff, wasn’t it? Any reasonable team member would do the same.

“Think of it this way,” Nora pointed out. “How do you think your team would have managed if you hadn’t been there. Do you think Cobalt and Luna could have handled all three Alphas by themselves while Lily was guarding me?”

Astra blinked in surprise. It was a good point. “Yeah...probably not.”

Nora nudged her gently. “So, they did need you then. You did exactly what they needed you to do.”

Astra smiled slightly. “I guess I did.” Maybe she hadn’t done anything significant, but she’d added extra muscle. Maybe she’d get a chance to do something bigger on the next mission.

“Thank you.” She told Nora.

Nora shrugged. “Hey, don’t thank me. I’m just speaking the truth,” She looked over at Luna. “She’s the one you should be thanking. You’re pretty lucky to have her.”

Astra smiled softly over at her girlfriend. “Yeah, I know.”

“You’ve definitely got to be pretty cool if you’ve met her standards,” Nora chuckled. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone get so close to her.”

Astra glanced at her quizzically. “Standards?”

“I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but Luna doesn’t exactly like being around people.” Nora pointed out.

Astra shrugged. “Well, yeah, but she’s close with the whole team. It’s not just me.”

“True, I am surprised by how well she gets along with the other two,” Nora admitted, glancing over to where Luna was talking with Lily and Cobalt. “But it’s different with you.” At Astra’s confused look, she explained. “See, Luna has pretty strict personal boundaries. She doesn’t like people getting too close to her unless it’s for comfort or encouragement, sometimes not even then. But just in this past day, I’ve barely seen her leave your side. She _chooses_ to be physically close to you.” She gave Astra a serious look. “I haven’t seen her so cuddly and affectionate around _anyone_. Not even the girlfriend she had in combat school.”

Astra stared at her, awed, her heart full of warmth. “I…didn’t even know,” She admitted. “It just seemed so normal.”

Nora chuckled warmly. “I guess that just proves how much she cares about you then.”

Astra looked back down at the passing landscape thoughtfully. Something nagged at her mind, and she couldn’t help but ask, though she doubted Nora would have an answer. “But…why _me_ though? Wouldn’t she be happier with someone more like her, instead of someone who’s always so much louder and more energetic?”

Nora was quiet for a moment, looking ahead thoughtfully, before she answered, “No, I wouldn’t think so. Even the gentlest flowers can sometimes use a good storm to help them grow.” She smiled softly, her eyes distant. “Ren told me something back when we were still figuring out or relationship. He told me that when he was alone with me, he could forget he was an introvert. I made him feel more confident, like he could take on anything so long as I was by his side.” She looked back at Astra. “I see a lot of us in you two. You must be very special to her.”

“Wow…” Astra’s whole chest felt warm and she could feel a slight blush on her cheeks. To have her new relationship be compared with that of one that had lasted over twenty years…it was certainly something. “That’s actually really comforting.”

Nora grinned. “Glad I could help, kid.”

Astra glanced back over at the rest of her team. “You should go and tell them how well they did too,” She said. “I think they’d appreciate it.”

“Of course,” Nora stood up. “You’re a good teammate Astra. Don’t let yourself believe anything else.”

As Nora went over to praise the other three, Astra looked back out of the window and let her feelings of inadequacy slip away. Despite anything else, if Luna really cared about her that much, that was all Astra ever needed to hear. If she was _special_ to Luna, that was enough.

After a while, Beacon came into view and Astra found herself looking forward to getting back, having a bath, and slipping into her favourite pyjamas. They’d get the rest of the day off, and Astra fully intended to spend it watching cartoons and eating junk food.

The moment the bullhead landed at the docks, Nora was out of the vehicle before anyone else, looking around urgently. It took Astra a moment to remember why. As the team joined her, Astra heard Luna remind Nora softly,

“He might not be back yet.”

Nora calmed. “Oh, right.” Her disappointment was clear, and Astra felt sorry for her. She couldn’t imagine how desperate Nora must be to see her husband again, and to tell him the news.

“Hey, guys!”

A call caught the group’s attention, and Astra turned to see Storm walking towards them with a wave, followed by Ren and Yarrow. Astra smiled. So, they’d gotten back at the same time, then.

Before anyone else could give a greeting, Nora rushed forward with all of the excitement that she was so known for, throwing herself at Ren with a squeal and spinning him around.

“Woah,” Ren chuckled as Nora put him down again. “You really missed me that much?”

“Of course I did,” Nora gave him a kiss, leaning her forehead against his affectionately. “I need to tell you something when we get home, but you need to promise not to get mad, okay?”

Ren looked playfully suspicious. “What did you do?” Astra wondered how often Nora had asked him that after doing something dumb.

Nora chuckled. “Nothing. It’s not bad, I promise.”

Their affection caught on to Astra. As Cobalt and Yarrow greeted Cobalt, she turned to Luna and wrapped her in a tight hug, hoping Luna could sense the care for her that she was feeling that she couldn’t quite put into words. Not yet, anyway.

Luna looked pleasantly surprised as she hugged her back. “What’s this for?”

“Everything,” Astra sighed softly. “Just everything.”


	41. Surprise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Forgetting what the day is, Coablt wakes up in confusion.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> GUYS I'M SO SORRY IT'S BEEN THREE WEEKS AH ;;;; a fair bit has happened since last time, including some personal life stress, and the premiere of rwby volume 8. to add on to that, i've somehow managed to get a very wonderful girlfriend, which has brought many new experiences to my life. sssoooooo yeah! haven't had much time for writing.
> 
> but i'm back now with a double update!!! enjoy!!!

Cobalt woke up to an unusual lack of noise.

No quiet humming from Astra, no barely-concealed chuckles from Luna at the latter, no sprinkling of water as Lily watered her plants, even though she really didn’t need to anymore. It was quiet enough that Cobalt briefly wondered if he’d woken very early, until he looked out the window and saw that it was fully daylight.

Glancing over to Luna and Astra’s beds, he also noted, to his surprised, that neither of his teammates were even there. Had he woken particularly late, then? And wait, if he _had_ woken late…was it a weekend? Or had his teammates randomly gone off to class without waking him up first? He was far too sleepy to figure out what day it was, but he certainly hoped it _was_ a weekend.

Blearily, he sat up, his ears brushing against the roof, and climbed down to the floor, where he noticed that Lily was absent too. Her plants, which had just about doubled in number and size since she’d unlocked her Semblance, sparkled slightly with fresh water. She’d insisted on continuing to take care of her plants normally even though she could bring them back to life with one touch, apparently taking comfort in looking after other beings.

Confusion rushed through him. It wasn’t like his teammates to just leave without telling him where they were going, even if they had to wake him up for it. Had he just looked particularly fast asleep that morning? He felt a prick of concern. What if they were mad at him?

He walked over to the electric clock that Luna kept on her bedside desk, only to be even further confused when he saw that it was only 8:04 am, so he definitely hadn’t just woken up late.

Concluding that they all probably just had things to go and do, he shrugged and wandered towards the kitchen in search of breakfast, figuring they’d probably be back by the time he finished his cereal.

Just as he got close to the kitchen though, he stopped short as Luna, Astra and Lily leaped out from behind the other room’s walls and tackled him in a group hug.

“Surprise!”

Cobalt almost lost his balance at the weight of the three girls hugging him. He was certainly surprised that was for sure, but still confused.

“What’s all this about?” He asked as his teammates let him go. “Did I do something to earn this?”

Astra grinned. “Uh, yeah! You were _born!_ ”

Cobalt blinked. “Huh?”

Luna smirked and crossed her arms, shaking her head at him. “You forgot, didn’t you? Truly shameful.”

Astra’s mouth fell open. “Did you _forget_ your own _birthday!?_ ”

 _Oh._ Cobalt ran through the dates in his mind. It hadn’t really registered to him that the day was even close. “Is that really today?”

Lily lifted her scroll to show him; the date was indeed June 25th. “Unless all three of us somehow remembered the date wrong.

Cobalt blinked at it, wondering how in the name of Remnant he’d managed to forget. He’d never forgotten before. Then again, he’d never woken up outside of home on his birthday before either.

“Oh,” he replied, “I guess I’m just used to having today hyped up by my family several days in advance.”

Luna chuckled. “We would have too, but we wanted to surprise you,” She looked warmly at Astra. “It was Astra’s idea.”

Astra bounced on her feet. “You’re the second one of us to turn eighteen! That means we need to have a fun little party!”

“Especially seeing as we’ve only got two days before term holidays,” Lily pointed out. “Seemed like a good time to spend some time together.”

“After classes.” Luna added.

So it _wasn’t_ a weekend, then. Cobalt felt dumb. He’d managed to forget his birthday _and_ what day it even was. The last couple of weeks had been busy as students wrapped up the last of the term’s tests and study, and apparently, it had affected him more than he’d thought. Thankfully though, the last of their papers would be turned in today, and they would indeed have the time to relax and throw a bit of a party afterward. It was a nice thought.

He smiled. “Well, thank you guys,” He told them sincerely. “This was really sweet,” he chuckled, “And it’s good to know you didn’t all run off and abandon me.”

Classes continued as usual, aside from the almost universal breath of relief from every student as they handed over the last of their work for each class, a weight finally lifted off their shoulders. Cobalt wondered how many others were planning to throw a little party of their own to celebrate another term’s worth of work over and done with.

The last class of the day was sparring, headed by Coco, as usual. Luna and Astra had gone up against June Celadon and Dodger Blu of Team CDMM, a fight they’d actually lost, but only marginally. Cobalt had still seen June rubbing her back after one too many hits from Astra’s semblance.

After the final match finished and the class was brought to a close, Coco approached him and wrapped him in a warm hug.

“Sorry I didn’t get to say happy birthday earlier,” She apologized. “Busy day.”

Cobalt hugged her back. “Hey, don’t worry about it,” He assured her, “We’ve all been busy.” He grinned sheepishly. “I actually didn’t even realize what day it was until the team let me know.”

Coco raised an eyebrow. “Really? I don’t think you’ve ever forgotten before.” She smiled fondly. “I remember how excited you always got for it, too. Always running around the house in your pajamas the night before. Took us forever to get you to sleep.”

Cobalt remembered. Very vaguely, he remembered his father chasing him around the night before his fourth birthday, tickling him and riling up his excitement before Velvet took over and settled him down. And then, every year after that, it had been Coco and Velvet instead. Just before his eighth birthday, it had hit him that Silver would never be the one to chase him before bed again. He’d tried his hardest not to cry that night.

Regardless, though, he’d woken up to his family’s celebration every year. The moment the day drew close, it was all they ever talked about, the same applying to Bailey and Kahlua once they’d gotten old enough to understand. Birthdays were a big deal in the CFVY household, so it was weird to have gone the whole month barely even remembering it, because his family hadn’t been around to remind him. Both Coco and the twins had celebrated their own birthdays just two weeks ago, and while he and Coco had been able to have a nice lunch together in the cafeteria, all he’d been able to do for his sisters was video chat with them and send Coco over there the night before with their gifts. He understood how crushed Luna had been when she’d thought she would have to miss Blaze’s birthday. To celebrate without family…it just didn’t feel right.

“I guess it just didn’t register, without you guys being around to celebrate with and remind me,” he admitted with a sigh. “This is the first time I couldn’t celebrate that way I usually do.”

“Aw hey,” Coco placed a hand on his shoulder. “It was the same for my first birthday at Beacon too. I felt alone without my parents and brothers to celebrate with me. But then, that night, my team surprised me with a giant cake. They’d baked it themselves and had been working on it the whole time I’d been studying that afternoon.”

She took off her glasses to look at Cobalt properly. “Your team can be your family too,” She told him. “Remember that. You might not be able to celebrate with us, but you can still spend your time with them. I’m sure they have something nice planned for tonight.”

Cobalt smiled and nodded slightly. “Yeah. They do.”

Coco grinned at him. “See? You’ll still be able to celebrate, even if it’s a little different. And they’re probably waiting for you right now.” She ruffled his hair. “Go have some fun. Enjoy yourself.”

“Okay,” Cobalt chuckled. “Thanks, mom.”

On his way back to the dorm, he spotted Storm and Yarrow in the hallway and hurried to catch up to them, an idea sparking in his mind. Even if he couldn’t spend tonight with his family, he could still surround himself with as many people he cared about as possible.

“Hey,” he tapped Storm on the shoulder, who spun to face him.

“Oh, hey Cobalt!” Storm’s face lit up. “Did you need something?”

“My team and I are having a bit of a party later to celebrate my birthday,” Cobalt explained. “Did you guys want to come? I think it’d be more fun with more people there.”

Yarrow peered up at him, looking surprised. “Both of us?”

Cobalt smiled at him. “Of course!” He replied warmly, suddenly feeling bad at the idea of Yarrow feeling excluded from anything he and Storm did together. “I wouldn’t want you having to hang out at your dorm all by yourself. And we’re friends, right?”

Yarrow perked up, a smile spreading across his face. “Right! Um, thank you!”

“Of course we’ll come,” Storm added. “When can we show up?”

Cobalt reminded himself that his team would probably want to take him shopping for supplies before the party actually started. “We should be ready around eight.”

“Great! We’ll be there,” Storm replied. “And hey, happy birthday! I’ll have to write the date down for next year.”

Cobalt tried his hardest not to blush. He’d be ready for things soon, but not quite yet. Not right at the end of term just as things were calming down. “I’ll see you there, then.”

With a quick goodbye, he continued on his way to his own dorm, pushing the door open to an impatient Astra.

“Where have you _been?_ ” She demanded. “We need to take you shopping!”

Cobalt saw Lily roll her eyes from where she sat on her bed. “He was only gone for, like, fifteen minutes, Astra,” She reprimanded. “It’s fine.”

“Sorry,” Cobalt chuckled, “Coco wanted to give me birthday wishes.” He hesitated, remembering Astra’s uncertainty about Storm, before adding, “I also invited Storm and Yarrow to join us later. Is that okay?”

Astra grinned. “Hey, it’s _your_ birthday. You can invite whoever you want. And I talked to Storm, remember? He’s…” She seemed to search for the right word. “…Fine. I know he’s trying, and that’s good enough for me.”

“Good,” Cobalt replied. “Thank you for giving him a chance.”

Astra shrugged and waved a hand. “Ah, don’t worry about it. That’s not what’s important right now.” She grabbed Cobalt’s shoulder and waved a wallet with her free hand. “Right now, we’ve got birthday shopping to do.”


	42. Leader to Leader

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Having doubts yet again, Luna finds help and comfort in someone unexpected.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> second chapter of the double update!! picking up shortly after we left off

Cobalt’s party was already off to a great start. Team LLAC had spent over an hour in Vale, darting from shop-to-shop to grab exactly the right supplies and food according to what Cobalt had wanted; Astra insisting everything had to be perfect for him. Then, they’d made their way to a few other shops as Astra and Lily picked out one gift each for him- a set of heart-shaped sunglasses from Astra and a new set of art pencils and paper from Lily.

Luna had already brought her gift weeks ago. Each year, everything she brought him followed the same theme, something she knew meant a lot to Cobalt. As far as she was aware, he’d kept every one of them, even the earlier ones that hadn’t cost any money.

This one had set her back a bit when it’d come to price, but she was confident in how much it would mean to her oldest friend. It was hidden away in the bottom shelf of their dorm closest, carefully wrapped in paper, and tucked underneath a number of sweaters. Luna intended to give it to him later that night, after the party had ended.

After shopping, the team had returned to their dorms to set everything up, standing on chairs to hang up streamers and blowing up as many balloons as their lungs could handle. Lily had begun preparing the food while Astra had dived into her game collection to figure out which ones to play, asking Cobalt his opinion on every one and picking his favourites.

Then Storm and Yarrow had shown up just as the preparations had finished, each bearing a gift of their own that Luna guessed they’d grabbed last-minute after being invited. Yarrow had brought a box of assorted chocolates and Storm had brought a large plush of a video game character that now sat up on Cobalt’s bed.

Even Storm and Astra had somewhat-awkwardly been getting along, especially after Yarrow had tentatively asked about Astra’s trans flag stickers and she’d gladly given some to both him and Storm.

Despite all this, and no matter how hard she tried, Luna could not keep her mind on the festivities. As much as she tried to force a smile while playing cards, as much as she made herself laugh along to Truth or Dare, her mind was stuck on the fight that she and Astra had lost earlier that day, the same old insecurities rearing their ugly head once again.

On their own, they were great fighters. Especially Astra, with her semblance and hard-hitting weapon. But when paired up, while still effective individually, working as partners seemed to add nothing to a fight against another pair. June Celadon and Dodger Blu worked perfectly as a team, each move seeming to either aid or complement the others. They moved as if they were two halves of one single fighter, and when both of their semblances were related to combat, it meant that Luna and Astra had barely stood a chance. They’d held on thanks to Astra’s semblance, but Luna had realized from the start that there was no beating them.

And it wasn’t just her and Astra. Luna had begun to notice the same with her team as a whole. Luna didn’t doubt the capabilities of her team at all, but she was beginning to feel more and more like they still weren’t fighting as one. There was a difference between four people fighting together, and four people fighting as a team, and Luna was quite sure she hadn’t gotten them to the latter point yet. Halfway through the year, and she hadn’t been able to affect any change in the way the team fought, especially not together.

So, once again, Luna felt as if she was failing as a leader. She knew what Jaune would say, that she needed to give herself time, that Glynda and Coco had picked her for a reason, that nobody else could fill her place, but she couldn’t find the same old words being of any comfort to her this time around.

“Okay, okay,” Astra’s voice snapped Luna out of her thoughts. “Lily! Truth or dare?”

“Uh-oh,” Lily sighed jokingly and leaned back on her hands. “Uh…truth. But _please_ nothing too embarrassing.”

Astra looked thoughtful. “Okay…who was your first crush?”

Lily smirked. “Hah, sorry to disappoint, but I’ve never had one.”

Astra’s eyes popped. “ _Really?_ ”

Storm tipped his head. “Are you just not interested in romance?”

Lily shrugged. “Nope. I’d love to have a partner someday. I’ve just never really met anyone who I can think that way about. I mean,” She pointed out, “I didn’t go to combat school. And I didn’t exactly _like_ people until I came here. So, yeah, I’ve never had a crush on anyone.”

“Well, I hope you get to experience it soon!” Astra chirped, before grinning sheepishly. “Just make sure you consider that it’s what you’re feeling when you start getting strong emotions every time you’re around someone.”

Luna desperately wanted to laugh along at her girlfriend’s joke, but her heart wasn’t in it. She forced a smile anyway, before standing up. “Hey, I’m gonna go and have a shower,” maybe it would help her feel better to be clean and refreshed. “I shouldn’t be gone for too long.”

Astra grinned up at her. “I’m gonna destroy you at trivia when you get back.”

Luna kept up her forced smile. “You can try.”

Grabbing her pajamas, she left the room, heading out of the dorm building and out into the warm summer night air as she started to make her way to the school’s public showers. The temperature had barely changed from earlier that day, but it wasn’t unpleasant, and the warm concrete was nice under her feet. She considered lingering outside for a while, stopping as she walked.

“Hey there, bee kid.”

Luna jumped at the voice with a squeak, whirling around to see Blaire Arylide walking towards her with a friendly wave.

“Sorry for the scare,” The older student apologized, “What are you doing out here at this hour?”

Luna shuffled her feet. “Oh, um. Just heading out for a shower. Uh…and you?”

Blaire shrugged. “I like to take walks on my own sometimes. They glanced up at the sky. “Stars can be awfully nice in summer.”

Luna followed their gaze. The sun hadn’t set all that long ago and the sky was a dark grey-purple, but there were a few stars sparkling alongside an almost-full moon.

“Everything okay with you?” Blaire asked suddenly. “Sorry if I’m intruding. Just seems like you feel a bit down. I know I don’t usually have showers this late unless I’m worried about something.”

Luna looked away, trying to resist the urge to talk to another team leader about her problems. “No, it’s okay. It’s really nothing.”

“Mmhm,” Blaire didn’t sound convinced. “That’s what people like us always say,” They offered a kind smile. “Come on, I’m not scary, I promise. Lay it on me.”

Luna gave in. She sighed and walked a few steps over to one of the benches that edged the walkway.

“I’m just…having trouble figuring out how to be a better leader.” She admitted as Blaire came and sat next to her. “Astra and I lost a fight today and I don’t feel like I’ve had any contribution to my team’s fighting process.”

Blaire nodded sympathetically. “I know that feeling. I still feel it sometimes now, actually.”

Luna glanced at them. “How? Your team’s one of the best at Beacon. I heard about you guys from Jaune and Coco before I even started here.”

Blaire shrugged. “Now, maybe,” they admitted. “But you don’t think it’s always been that way, do you?” After a moment of silence, they asked, “Can I let you in on a little secret?”

Luna blinked. “Uh, sure?”

“I am a _terrible_ navigator,” Blaire revealed. “See, I have a pretty horrible memory, so I can’t remember the layout of anywhere I’ve been, and I don’t know which direction is which. But back when I was a new leader, I was terrified that I’d lose any respect my team had for me if I told them. So, I didn’t. Until one day early one in our second year, we were on our first solo mission. We were tracking Grimm in the forest, but after we defeated them, I couldn’t find my way back to where we’d been dropped off. My team followed me around for hours as I wandered in circles until I finally admitted that we were lost and told them the truth.”

“What happened after that?” Luna prompted. “Did you find your way out?”

“Eventually, yes,” Blaire responded with a chuckle. “Obviously. Dusk was able to get us out by listening for activity and using the sun to figure out where we’d started. I felt shitty all day after that, but once we got out of that forest, they all assured me that they still had my back. That I was allowed to make mistakes, so long as I kept trying to do better.”

Luna sighed and stared at the ground. “I get what you’re saying,” She replied, “And I know I’ll get better at it in time. But I don’t see how I can unless I know _how_ to start being better. Not everything comes naturally, and some things can’t be fixed or changed.”

Blaire leaned back. “Okay. So, what are your main problems?”

“My semblance, for one,” Luna admitted. “I can sense people’s emotions, but there’s no way I can make that useful in a fight.”

“I get that,” Blaire replied. “Mine isn’t a combat semblance either.”

Luna glanced at them curiously. “What _is_ your semblance?”

Blaire lifted a hand. As Luna watched, it glowed yellow, before they began to move it in a pattern through the air. As it moved, it left a glowing, sparkling trail that hung mystically in the air, like the remnants of a glowstick that showed up when you took a photo fast enough, except this was happening in real-time.

“That’s beautiful,” Luna praised softly.

“It is,” Blaire agreed. “But useless, as far as I was concerned. You’ve gotta remember though, being a huntsman isn’t all about fighting. Sure, I can’t hurt anything with this, but it’s certainly useful when I need to say something without speaking, that’s for sure.” They swiped their hand through the trail, and it dissipated. “You have no idea how much it’s helped send signals to transports when I’ve needed them. Or send quick orders to my team in the middle of a fight. Your semblance will have a use in huntsman work, Luna. You just need to give it time.”

Luna searched for the older student’s feelings. There was sympathy, unsurprisingly, but also a layer of anxiety beneath it, as if they were worried about saying the wrong thing to her. It was always interesting, to see beneath the shields people put up. Maybe it could be useful for huntsman work, once she found a situation to use it in.

“You’re right,” She replied. “I guess I don’t need a combat semblance to lead my team. But that’s not the only problem.”

Blaire placed their hands behind their head. “Spill.”

Luna poured out her worries regarding LLAC’s teamwork, making sure that Blaire knew how excellent they all were on their own.

“It’s not like we’re getting in each other’s way or anything,” She explained, hoping what she was saying made sense. “We’re not _bad_ together. I just wish I knew how we could work better together. I feel like working in pairs should _add_ something.”

“Hm,” Blaire looked thoughtful. “That one’s a bit more complicated. Our teams are pretty different, and you’re bound to know yours better than I do. I can’t tell you four how to fight; that’s your job.”

Luna sighed. “I know.”

“Hey, I’m not done,” Blaire assured her. “Do you have any team attacks?”

Luna sat up straighter. “Just one. A group attack.”

Blaire nodded. “Okay, well that’s something you can work on. Maybe while you’re on your holidays, take some time to think about yourself and your teammates. Your strengths, your weaknesses. Compare each member against another and figure out what problems you each have in fighting that another member could help with.”

Luna thought of Teams RWBY and JNR, the ways she’d seen them fight before. Team attacks weren’t exactly used in the sparring matches she’d watched all the time, but on the rare occasions she’d seen their real fights, she’d witnessed the way they combined their semblances, weapons, or attacking styles to get the upper hand. It was definitely something her own team needed.

“Okay,” She nodded. “I’ll definitely see what I can come up with. Thank you, Blaire.” She hoped the older student realized just how much she meant it.

Blaire smiled. “Sure. I like helping people. It feels good.”

Luna searched for their emotions again, recognizing a strong wave of relief.

“So,” Blaire asked, “Anything else?”

There was plenty ‘else’, but Luna wasn’t about to drop all of her life problems on this student that was only two years older than she was. For now, they’d helped her with some current issues, and that was good enough.

“That’s okay,” She replied, standing up while still clutching her pajamas. “I should go and have this shower before I leave my team waiting too long.”

Blaire grinned. “Fair enough. It was nice talking to you, bee kid.”

Luna gave them a respectful nod. “You, too. And thanks again, it really did help.”

As she made her way to the showers, she began making mental notes in her head, comparing herself and her teammates as Blaire had advised. Small ideas pricked in the back of her mind and she showered as quickly as possible, wanting to get back to the dorm and write them down. She wouldn’t be able to test things out anytime soon, but she could set her focus on it during their third term. And over the holidays, she could think even more on these ideas; plan them out to the best of her capabilities. Maybe she could even ask the adults about it and get the opinion of veteran huntsman.

It was time to step up her game.


	43. Training Tricks

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lily plans out the perfect time to tell her mother of her new abilities.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry this title is so dumb rip

Lily had kept her semblance a secret for weeks now, waiting for the right time to tell her mother in-person.

It had been difficult, of course, not to blurt out the news over a scroll call the moment she’d gotten back from the mission, but this was a special moment, one that needed to be timed right. And so, she’d been waiting patiently, not giving away anything. Well, anything except for occasionally growing out the stems of apples and tomatoes to endlessly confuse both Emerald and Neo, and keeping her home plants fresher and healthier than they’d ever been. She hoped that Jaune and Glynda were taking good enough care of the ones back at the dorm while she was away, not that she couldn’t just bring them back anyway.

Today though, she had her plan ready to go. She’d been home for a couple of days and had spent that time resting, but today called for another training session with her mother- the perfect opportunity to show off.

“Hey, you ready?”

Lily looked up at her mother from where she lay on the couch with her har untied, jacket off, and a bowl of incredibly fresh grapes (thanks to herself, of course) on her chest. “Yeah, are you?”

“Just about,” Emerald replied. She cast a glance across the room at Neo, who was putting away dishes in the kitchen. “I wanted to talk to you about something else first though, if that’s okay with you.”

Lily sat up and placed her grapes on the table. “What’s up?” She wondered if her mother was finally going to be honest about her feelings for Neo. It’d be about time.

Emerald sat beside her. “It’s about Neo.”

Lily leaned forward. _Yes, good_.

“She came to me the other day with a proposition,” Emerald explained. “She’s decided that, if and after she’s pardoned for her criminal activity, she wants to join me in getting an official huntsman license. More specifically, she wants to be my partner.”

Lily lifted her eyebrows. “That sounds…good?” Emerald didn’t seem as excited about this as Lily would have thought. “You like spending time with her, right?”

Emerald gazed across the room affectionately as Neo fumbled and almost dropped a glass, before shoving it quickly in a cupboard and regaining her composure as if nothing had happened.

“Of course I do,” She replied softly. “But she’s not the problem.” Her gaze dropped to the floor. “I’m just not sure I’m ready to have a partner again.”

“Oh…right.” Lily’s heart ached a little, though she’d never met Mercury. It hurt to think that, after Cinder, Emerald had been close to one person in the world, and then she’d lost him. She briefly wondered what it would be like to lose Cobalt and almost felt like crying. She just couldn’t imagine what she’d do without her partner, or any of her other teammates.

Emerald’s crimson gaze was still stuck on the floor. “Mercury was grumpy, stubborn, sometimes even a straight-up asshole. But he was also loyal, and protective. We were the same age, but he always felt like an older brother to me. He left Cinder and Salem because I did. He fought against them because _I_ did. And it got him killed.”

Lily had heard these words before, many times now. She never knew what to say to comfort Emerald, to assure her that Mercury’s death hadn’t been her fault. But it was yet another thing that her mother was insistent on blaming herself for, only, unlike everything else, no amount of training and do-good would make up for this one.

“I just don’t know what I’m supposed to do if I let myself have another partner, only for her to get herself killed for my sake,” Emerald continued. “I don’t know if I can go through that again.”

Lily hesitated, searching for the right words. “I know I didn’t know Mercury,” She started, “But you’ve told me enough about him that I think, if he was still here, he’d criticize you for letting what happened with him get in the way of trying again.”

Emerald huffed, a mix of amusement, affection, and pain crossing her face. “You’re probably right.”

“Someone told me once,” Lily continued, “That when something bad happens, people will blame themselves. It’s just a fault of humanity. But you didn’t kill Mercury. Cinder did. And she’s gone now.” She watched Neo skip across the kitchen to put the plates away. “Mercury made the choice the join you. And Neo wants to make that choice too. In fact, something tells me that, even if you turn down her offer, she’ll insist on fighting by your side anyway. You may as well let her.”

Emerald glanced at her with a half-smile. “When did you get so wise, huh? You’re supposed to be the kid here.”

Lily shrugged. “You pick a few things up once you’ve interacted enough with legendary heroes and their children.”

Emerald chuckled. “Beacon’s been good for you,” She acknowledged. “You made the right choice by going there.”

Lily felt a small glow of pride. “I know I did. I’ve got a good team and good teachers.” _And they’ve helped me more than you realize._

Emerald sighed. “Mercury would have liked you. You two are a lot alike.” She seemed to shake herself out of her thoughts and stood up. “Well then, enough moping. Let’s get some training done.”

“Right.” Lily stood up and gathered her hair back into a ponytail.

“Neo!” Emerald called across the room. “You coming to watch us?”

Neo closed the cupboard from where she was putting away the last of the dishes and flashed Emerald a thumbs-up before walking over to join them as the group headed outside into the glaring heat of summer.

It was time for Lily to set her plan in motion.

“I was thinking,” She piped up to Emerald. “Seeing as it’s so hot today, we might want to spar beyond the field, in the woods. It’ll be cooler under the shade of those trees.”

Emerald glanced up at the sun, squinting. “Yeah, probably. It’ll be harder though. And we’ll have to make sure we don’t attract any Grimm; I know they hang around in there on occasion.”

Neo leaped in front of them as they walked. “ _I can take care of any Grimm, don’t worry._ ” She assured them. “ _You two can just focus on your training._ ”

Emerald grinned at her. “Of course. Thank you, Neo.” Neo flashed another thumbs-up in response.

It was definitely cooler under the shade of the threes, but that wasn’t really what Lily cared about. What she cared about was the entanglement of branches that blocked every path and the assortment of roots that were spread out but under and over the ground. An already-messy area that was only about to get even more chaotic.

As Neo circled the area with an eye out for any Grimm, Lily took her stance a few paces away from Emerald, ready for the word.

“Go.”

Lily dodged away as Emerald darted forward with a swift strike, feeling the wind rush between them and diving behind Emerald to deliver a kick. Before her foot could connect though, Emerald recovered from her missed strike and spun around to grab her by the ankle.

Lily took her chance. Before her mother could yank her off-balance, she subtly flicked her hand, sending a root under Emerald’s feet and causing her to stumble. The moment Lily felt her mother’s grip weaken, she twisted away and delivered a kick with her other foot, one that connected this time.

Emerald recovered quickly, leaping at Lily, who began weaving between trees, inciting a brief chase. As she passed branches, she grew them slightly longer, enough that they made Emerald’s path more difficult, but still without her noticing the change. Lily, on the other hand, found herself traversing a lot easier when she could simply move foliage out of her way at will.

As Emerald stumbled over another of Lily’s sneakily-grown roots, Lily used the distraction to dive behind a thicker tree, allowing it to completely shield her from Emerald’s view. As Emerald recovered her balance and glanced around, Lily tensed herself, before leaping out from behind the tree and slamming into her mother with a heavy kick, sending her sprawling onto the uneven terrain.

Lily allowed herself to feel smug as she walked over and helped her mother up. “I’d call that a victory.”

“I don’t doubt that,” Emerald huffed as she dusted herself off. “I don’t think I’m used to fighting around obstacles. I feel like just about every root and branch was out to get me.”

Leaves crunched as Neo hurried over to join them, a smirk on her face. “ _That was hilarious. Nice job, kid._ ”

“Hey, give me a break!” Emerald protested lightheartedly, “Lily’s probably been training in the forest a lot lately.”

Lily grinned. “No, not really. I just have a way with plants, that’s all.”

“ _Come on Em, just admit you’re getting too old and achy to fight in a forest anymore.”_ Neo teased.

Emerald gave the other woman a light and friendly punch in the arm. “Hey, you’re literally only two years younger than I am,” She pointed out. “If I’m old, so are you.”

Neo shrugged. “ _Whatever you need to say to make yourself feel better._ ”

Emerald’s only response was to poke her tongue out at Neo, who gave the same gesture in return. Lily grew out a low branch to sit on while their attention was on each other and watched in amusement.

Glancing up at the branches above her, Lily noticed a few apples growing among the leaves, perfectly ripened and ready for picking. As Emerald and Neo bickered playfully, she selected one and let it fall into her lap. It wasn’t until she bit into it with a loud crunch that she finally caught their attention.

Emerald blinked at her while Neo’s gaze flickered from the branch, to the apple, then to Lily.

“Where did you get that?” Emerald asked.

Lily pointed above her as she chewed. “Want one? They’re fresh.” She took another bite. She wasn’t lying, it was certainly very juicy and sweet, even as someone who didn’t usually enjoy apples and was only eating this one for the gimmick.

Emerald looked up at the other apples hanging from the branches, then back down at Lily. “Did that just…fall into your lap?”

Lily looked up again. “I mean…technically, yeah?” She made another one fall, catching this one deftly in her free hand. “See?”

Emerald and Neo both stared at her. Lily could practically see the gears turning in their heads. Neo seemed to realize quicker than Emerald, lifting her hands to her head as her eyes widened. A moment later, realization flooded into Emerald’s eyes as well.

“You…did you do that?”

Lily grinned. “Yep.”

Emerald lifted her hands to her chest, looking as if she was about to start welling up. “You…unlocked your semblance, didn’t you?”

Lily let her smugness fall away for a moment. “Yeah. I did.”

“Oh, my little flower,” Emerald stepped over and wrapped her in a warm hug. “You have no idea how proud I am.” She pulled back. “When…when did it happen? Surely not just now?”

Lily shook her head. “It was on Team LLAC’s first mission. I wanted to wait until I could show you in-person to let you know.”

Pride flickered over Emerald’s face. “I’m so happy for you…you…” Her expression changed as the realization seemed to hit her, “You _tricked_ me!” She let out a laugh. “ _You_ were the one making me trip over like that!”

“ _Wow,_ ” Neo signed as she walked over to stand next to Emerald. “ _Being sneaky with your semblance is hereditary, I see. Very impressive._ ”

Something about Neo’s praise made Lily’s chest warm. “Sorry,” She chuckled to Emerald. “I hadn’t really gotten the chance to test it out in combat since unlocking it. Plus, I thought it’d be funny.”

“ _It was,_ ” Neo assured her. “ _It was very, very funny._ ”

Emerald shook her head, though her face was filled with pride and affection. “Okay, maybe it was funny. But I know better now.” She strode over to stand a few steps away and took a fighting stance. “Come on, let’s go again. And no using your semblance this time.”


	44. Longing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Astra grapples with increasing boredom and loneliness during the holidays, yet again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> someone please get the katts some therapy

Another day without Luna was as boring as always. Waking up in the morning just wasn’t the same without the ability to look down at Luna and see her cute, sleepy face. And watching cartoons without Luna by her side wasn’t the same either.

It just didn’t seem fair to Astra. As much as she loved her mother, it was awfully lonely when it was just the two of them. Even Lily now had Neo _and_ Emerald to keep her company over the holidays. Astra missed the days back in Atlas, where she and Neon could expect to be visited by the rest of Team FNKI anytime, or could head out to some kind of part or event whenever one happened to be occurring. Astra didn’t miss Atlas by any means, but Vale seemed to be lacking in the ‘fun’ area as far as Astra was aware. Any nightclubs were less of the wild and entertaining covered-in-laser-lights-and-fog type, and more of the only-plays-really-old-music type. Either that, or the shady, underground, illegal type. Astra wasn’t keen on either of them. And there also were really any fancy events going on that Astra could crash by way of her mother knowing the people in charge, because Neon _didn’t_ know the people in charge of Vale’s fancy events.

So, Astra found herself counting the days until she could return to Beacon, to her team, and to her wonderful girlfriend. And today was only Day 2. It was not encouraging.

“Hey, cheer up,” Neon nudged her as she sat at the table, leaned over with her head resting on the wooden surface. “The holidays won’t last long. I’m sure you can find something to do other than moping around.”

Astra gave her a mock glare. “Oh, _you’re_ one to talk.” Over half a year now, and the other members of Team FNKI had still yet to visit or even offer a kind word to either of them. And despite Neon’s constant insistence of being fine, it was obvious to Astra that she was not, in fact, fine.

Neon shrugged. “At least _I’m_ suppressing it and making an effort to keep a positive outlook on life.”

Astra lifted her head to squint at her. “I’m pretty sure that’s not healthy.” She pushed away the tiny voice that told her ‘hey you’re being kind of hypocritical right now’.

Neon sighed. “I keep hearing that from Ilia too. It’s always ‘hey Neon, maybe you should talk more about your feelings’ with her. Pff.”

“You know she only says that because she cares about you,” Astra pointed out, “And she’s _right_.”

Neon swept Astra over the head with the dishtowel she was holding. “I _know_ that, starshine. I’m just joking around. Things with me _will_ be fine though, I promise. Back in the day, the others would get annoyed with me­”

“-All the time.” Astra finished for her. “I know; you keep telling me. But it just doesn’t sound like it’s ever lasted this long before.” This didn’t seem like the time neon had accidentally frozen Ivori’s favourite dress right before a party, or when she’d made Kobalt look dumb while he’d been trying to flirt with his newest crush, or when she’d broken a window in Flynt’s parents' house and blamed him for it. This was a lot more personal for everyone involved.

“Trust me, they’ll come around once they get bored of being without me,” Neon assured her unconvincingly. “Now,” She sat across the table from Astra. “Why don’t you just go and visit Luna if you miss her so much?”

The question shocked Astra so much that she didn’t even care about Neon changing the subject. “Go to _Patch?_ Where all of Remnant’s _most legendary heroes live!?_ Including Luna’s parents, _who don’t know I’m dating her!?_ ”

Neon leaned back slightly. “Okay, so you’re not on board with that. Why don’t Blake and Yang know about you two?”

Astra squirmed. Well, uh…I mean, it’s not like it _bothers_ me. I’m not some insecure _straight person_. It’s just…” She rubbed the back of her neck and avoided her mother’s gaze. “There’s a chance Luna may be worried that Yang won’t approve because you’re my mother.”

“Hah!” A short laugh burst out of Neon. “Fair.”

Astra gazed wearily at her, not reassured. “Do you guys really hate each other?”

“What?” Neon chuckled. “No, of course not. Don’t get me wrong, Yang was certainly annoyed by me, but you can’t blame her. You know how I can be.” Distant memories seemed to flutter across her face. “I sure did say some things.”

Astra hesitated. “Do you think Yang really would disapprove of me? Or at least just be…disappointed?”

Neon frowned. “Absolutely not.” All the joking drained from her tone. “For all her problems with me, I don’t think Yang’s the type to judge people based on their parentage. And I don’t think anyone could _ever_ be disappointed by you.”

Astra let herself relax a bit. “Really?”

“Of course,” Neon affirmed. “You’re the brightest star in the sky. And hey, if Luna sees that, I’m sure her mother will, too.”

Slightly comforted, Astra rested her head back on the table. “Thanks,” She sighed. “But that that still doesn’t really solve my first problem.”

“Oh, well that’s easy!” Neon’s tone perked right back up again. “Why don’t you just meet her in the city or invite her over here?”

Astra lifted her head again, hope sparking inside her. “Here? Would that be okay?”

Neon shrugged. “Why not? I mean, it’s about time I met her. I’m very curious to meet the first person to have ever stolen your heart.” She winked. “I’d stay out of your way, of course. No annoyingly overbearing parenting here.”

Astra found herself doubting that, but the thought of having Luna over at her house still seemed very exciting. She could introduce her to all of her stuffed animals, show her old photos, bake with her in the kitchen. They could make a whole date out of it.

She grinned, pushing her chair away and walking around the table to hug her mother. “You’re a genius! Thank you!!”

Neon chuckled. “Did the idea seriously never cross your mind?”

Astra pulled away and skipped a little. “I mean, kind of, but it never really _registered_ with me, y’know? I forget she’s even my girlfriend sometimes!”

“Hm, fair enough.” Neon replied, her tone amused. “I forget I’m dating Ilia a lot, that’s for sure. Though I’ve been dating her for way less time than you’ve been dating Luna, so at least _I_ have an excuse.”

Astra waved a hand at her. “Don’t judge me.” She gave another little hop. “I’m going to go and text her!” She started to dart out of the room, before spinning on her heels to face Neon again. “Oh, uh, when’s a good time?”

Neon shrugged. “Any time’s fine.”

Astra grinned. “Okay, cool!” She hurried to her room and flung herself on her bed, bouncing her scroll into her hands from where it had been laying on the covers and opening her messages.

‘hey!!!’ She sent to Luna, following it up with several heart emotes. As she waited, she placed her scroll back down and rested her chin on the bed, watching the screen expectantly with wide eyes.

When Luna replied with ‘ _what’s up?_ ’, Astra jumped, picked up the scroll again, and sent,

‘ _did you want to come over to mine this weekend? we could have a little house date!!_ ’

‘ _oh, I’ll need to ask my parents, but that sounds fun!_ ’ Luna responded. A moment later, a second text appeared, ‘ _they’re okay with it!_ ’

Excitement shooting through her, Astra followed up with more exact details, already planning the day in her head. This day would have to be _special_. It would be a lot more personal than a regular restaurant date and would last a lot longer. There was something very exciting about the idea of spending a day with her girlfriend _in her house_ , where they would have access to all kinds of things they didn’t have at Beacon. She’d have to clean her room and make sure the house was free from any odd smells. Oh, and she’d definitely have to make sure the toilet paper was stocked up, and that she’d have her best clothes washed and dried before the day.

After a moment more of texting, Luna had to go for a moment, and Astra lay on her back and let herself take it all in, still planning the day. Turning her head, she took note of her guitar in the corner of her room, behind her door, with its bright pink and purple stickers plastered all over it. A bulb turned on in her head and she gasped to herself rolling off the bed and scrambling over to it.

Taking the instrument in her arms, she played a chord as a test. It was out of tune from months out of use, but the strings still seemed strong enough. It had been a while since she’d even played it, let alone written anything, but maybe…

As lyrics popped into her head, she rushed through her drawers for music paper and a pen, scrawling down words in a rough mess, not bothering with notes yet. She’d never attempted to write a song in just a few days before, but then again, she’d never been this motivated before. She’d never had a _girlfriend_ to write a _sappy love song_ for before. Most of her other songs had either been nonsensical or about the thoughts in her head she’d never let anyone else here. And she’d never had anyone to share her songs with before, except for her mother.

But the coming weekend would be her time to shine, to play and sing a song that she could perform from the bottom of her heart, to the person who meant most to her in the world. It would have to be perfect.


	45. Fathers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After opening up to his mother, Cobalt receives unexpected guests.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi sorry this is only one chapter!! didn't really have the energy for two tonight :'D

Between talking to his team over scroll, managing his sisters, and working shifts at the café, the first few days of Cobalt’s holidays were going pretty much the same as the last ones had. He appreciated the simplicity though; especially since he was still staying perfectly active, unlike poor Astra, who apparently had nothing at all to do. Lily had training with her mother and Luna was working on something she wasn’t telling anyone about, but Astra had apparently been stuck at home and bored out of her mind. Cobalt wondered about visiting her, reminding himself to ask at some point. At the very least, he could invite her to hang out at the café when he was on break from his work there.

At the moment, though, he was deep in work on a painting, a small one, but one he hoped to give to Storm upon finally asking him out once classes returned. He’d pondered over what to paint before settling on a small river landscape- his favourite to paint. Velvet sat by him, drinking coffee and watching him work wordlessly. She’d always enjoyed watching him paint, and Cobalt never minded.

“Hey, mom?” He asked as he dipped his brush in a blue palette and began applying the paint to the canvas.

“Mm?”

Cobalt pulled his brush across in a sweeping motion. “If cobalt is a shade of blue, why’d you name me after it? There’s not much ‘blue’ about me.”

Velvet chuckled. “Well, for starters, your eyes are blue,” She pointed out, “And it’s not _just_ a shade of blue. It’s a grey colour in its natural form.”

“Not much grey about me either,” Cobalt replied, enjoying the laid-back banter. “Still seems like a weird choice.”

“Your hair looked grey when you were born,” Velvet defended. “Besides, I’m not the one who named you.”

Cobalt’s brush slowed to a stop. “Oh. Right.”

Silence filled the room aside from the quiet hum of the air conditioner. It seemed as if the world was doing everything possible to remind him of his father these days, and he didn’t appreciate it. It always brought those few, brief memories back, and then the sharp pain that came after when he remembered there would never be more. And the slight anger upon reminding himself exactly _why_ there’d never be any more.

Velvet’s soft voice broke the silence, “I miss him too.”

Cobalt brought the brush closer to his chest, not looking at her. “It feels…ungrateful of me to miss him so much,” he admitted quietly. “When I’ve still got all of you.” After all, who could be lucky enough to have four loving parents? When some only had one, or none at all?

“Hey,” Velvet put her coffee down, moving closer to place a gentle hand on his shoulder. “You’re not being ungrateful,” She assured him. “Having four parental figures doesn’t mean you’re not allowed to miss the one you lost. That’s only natural.”

Cobalt sighed and forced himself to continue painting. “I know. I just don’t feel like I’m appreciating Coco, Fox and, Yatsu enough for being here when they never had to.” Fourteen years, and it had been them who had guided him through his life; through his first heartbreak, his first weeks at Signal, every important moment he’d been through. It didn’t feel fair that Silver couldn’t have been there too.

“They know how much you care about them,” Velvet insisted, her hand still on his shoulder. “You show them that just by being yourself. I see a lot of all of them mixed together in you, you know.”

The words were a comfort to hear, but Cobalt still hesitated to ask his next question. “Do you…see any of dad in me?”

Velvet pulled herself even closer. “Of course,” She replied, “You’re funny and charming, just like he was. And the way you care about and look after your friends reminds me a lot of him as well.” Her dark gaze clouded over slightly. “He always tried to make us laugh when we were feeling down. He left a hole in the team after he…” She trailed off, clearly not wanting to say the word.

Her words reminded Cobalt of how he’d felt on the mission a few weeks back, when the mere idea of anything happening had given him nightmares. He decided to open up to his mother about it, not having spoken to anyone else about his feelings.

“Do you…ever worry about the same thing happening to yourself?”

Velvet glanced at him inquisitively. “What do you mean?”

Cobalt slowed his brushstrokes again. “I mean…that you might die on a mission, and…” he swallowed. “And leave everyone behind.” The very idea sent shards of glass into his heart. Losing his mother wasn’t something he thought he’d ever be able to cope with.

Velvet was quiet for a moment. “Sometimes, yes.” She admitted at last. “But…” She took her hand off Cobalt’s shoulder and gazed forward distantly. “If there was one big flaw Silver had, it was that he insisted on shouldering everyone’s burdens on his own. So, he never joined a team and rarely worked with others. We’d have had his back if we could have, but he never wanted to let us. So, when he had nobody to look out for him on that mission…” She sighed. “My point is, I’ve got a team- a family- that I know I can count on. So long as I have them by my side, I know I’ll be okay. They’ve gotten me this far.”

Cobalt briefly stopped painting as his gaze wandered to the sparkly blue chunk of quartz Luna had gotten him for his birthday, that sat on display on a shelf in the kitchen. It was definitely the prettiest rock she’d gotten him yet.

“I think…I’ll be okay too,” He decided. “I don’t think I’d manage well without a team.”

Velvet ruffled the hair between his ears. “I’m glad you’ve got people you can trust.”

Satisfied, Cobalt returned to focusing on the painting, switching the blue paint out for green and dabbing on leaves to a tree, the peaceful silence in the room much nicer than the aching silence that had hung before.

Before he could even finish dotting the leaves on one tree, Coco swept into the room, scroll in hand.

“Hey sweetie,” She said to Velvet. “The boys are parked outside; I’m going to go and help them unpack.”

Cobalt gave her a quizzical look that she seemed to miss.

“Ah,” Velvet stopped sipping at her coffee. “I’ll come and help in a sec.”

As Coco headed out of the room, Cobalt turned his questioning look to Velvet, who was tipping her mug back to finish off the drink. “What’s going on? Who’s here?”

Velvet’s eyes shot wide open as she quickly set the mug down on the floor. “Shit! We forgot to tell you!”

“Tell me what?” Cobalt asked as his mother scrambled to her feet.

“Your uncles are going to be staying here for a few weeks until they can secure a house,” Velvet explained. “We meant to tell you when you got home from Beacon, but apparently, we all neglected to mention it.”

Cobalt pricked his ears. “Oh. Cool.”

He rested his brush on the palette and stood up, joining Velvet as she headed outside. He’d almost forgotten that Sun and Neptune were moving to Vale; a decision agreed upon by all of Team SSSNN, in order to raise their children in a better environment. It had meant that they weren’t able to be as active in the Vacuo Reconstruction Project, but it would at least make moving recourses from one kingdom to the other easier. And most importantly as far as the team was concerned, it meant Juno, Raine, and Mei would grow up in a much safer place than the desert.

Outside, Coco was helping Sun and Neptune take boxes out of the trunk of their car, while the triplets bounced around the adults’ legs, clearly excited by the prospect of moving to a new city.

Sun put a smaller box down as he and Velvet approached. “Ah, Cobalt!” He greeted cheerfully. “Have you gotten taller since the last time I came down here?”

Cobalt grinned. “Hey, Uncle Sun,” He chuckled, “I think it’s just been a while.”

Sun shrugged. “Ah, true. Hey, you’re a Beacon kid now, right? How’s that going?”

“Pretty good,” Cobalt replied honestly. “Luna and I have great partners. We actually just went on our first official mission last term.”

Sun nodded approvingly. “You’ll have to tell me all about it once we can settle down.”

“Can we help you unpack?” Cobalt asked.

“Nah, I think the three of us have got it handled,” Sun replied. “Although,” he glanced at his kids as they almost tripped Neptune over. “If you two could take those three inside and entertain them while we work, that’d be a huge help.”

“We’d be happy to.” Velvet assured him. Cobalt nodded; he’d not met the triplets too often before now, only once a year since they’d been born.

Right on cue, the children scrambled over to Sun, clinging to his legs, and bouncing up and down in excitement.

“Dad!” Juno squeaked. “Look at all the _trees!_ They’re _everywhere!_ ”

“I saw a lake!” Mei added. “Can we swim in it?”

Raine tucked his tail close to himself. “Dad, do you think there are any Grimm in Vale?”

Sun chuckled at them warmly. “Calm down,” He told them. “All of your questions will be answered. For now,” He motioned to Velvet and Cobalt. “Do you remember your Aunt Velvet and your cousin Cobalt?”

Raine tipped his head as he surveyed them, before Juno butted in.

“ _I_ remember,” She boasted. “They’re nice!”

Sun nodded. “Good. Do you think you can go inside with them while your father and I unpack all of our stuff?”

“Yes!” Mei replied enthusiastically, her tail curling up. “We’ll be good!”

“You know,” Velvet looked thoughtful. “I _think_ we might have some fresh lemonade in the fridge.”

The faces of all three six-year-olds lit up in delight.

“Hey, hon!” Neptune called to Sun from the back of the car. “Could you come and help me and Coco with this one?”

“Be right there!” Sun called back. He crouched down as his kids crowded around them. “Make sure you behave while we’re busy, okay?”

“We will!” Juno promised, while her siblings nodded eagerly.

Sun stretched his arms out. “Hugs?”

As the kids piled onto their father, Cobalt tried to push away the ache in his chest, Velvet’s hand on his shoulder indicating that her thoughts were the same as his.

 _There’s no changing the past,_ Cobalt reminded himself. _And you still have two fathers. They’re just as important._

Leading the kids inside as Sun hurried over to help his husband, Velvet leaned over to Cobalt, lowering her voice so that the kids couldn’t hear, not that it mattered, seeing as they were racing ahead of them anyway.

“Are you okay? I saw that look back there.”

“I’ll be fine,” Cobalt replied softly. “I can’t say it’s hard to see others having what I don’t, because I know I still have that.” He sighed. “It’s just…still hard. I think it always will be.”

Velvet rested her hand on his shoulder again. “He’d be proud of you for going on after all these years.” She told him softly.

Cobalt nodded. “I know. I think he’d be proud of you too.”

With a gentle smile, Velvet moved away to usher the triplets away from Cobalt’s painting, which they were staring at curiously. Cobalt watched her kneel down to talk to them, encouraging them to sit down around the table and wait as she went to the kitchen to get them the lemonade she’d mentioned.

Cobalt took the chance to go and sit with them, eager to better learn about his young cousins. Hearing them talk mostly about how great their fathers and uncles were, Cobalt suddenly promised himself to give Fox and Yatsuhashi a hug as soon as they got home from work. After everything they’d done, they deserved it.


	46. House Date

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luna heads out to spend the day with Astra, but not before finally opening up to her parents.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for the wait again!! writing's been getting hard for me lately but i'm doing my best!

Luna struggled to gather her nerves as she tied her hair up in front of her bedroom mirror. It wasn’t her date that day with Astra that she was worried about- well, not completely- but what she knew she’d have to do beforehand. She’d kept this from her parents for long enough; she figured it was time to let them know exactly why going to Astra’s house that day was so significant. She kept Ruby’s words in mind; that Yang and Neon didn’t really have any issue with each other anymore, and that everything would go smoothly.

After all, it wasn’t as if Yang would ever try to stop them from dating…right? Surely not. She just wasn’t that kind of parent. She’d be fine with it, she had to be.

Taking a deep breath, she opened the door to her bedroom and heading downstairs, where Blake and Yang were in the lounge.

“Hey, little bee,” Yang greeted her. “You heading out?”

“Uh,” Luna rubbed her arm. “Just about.” She swallowed and tried to calm herself. “There’s something I need to talk to you guys about first.”

Blake and Yang exchanged a look, before Blake patted the seat beside her on the couch. “Come and sit down.”

Luna obeyed, sinking into the cushion slightly, as her parents looked at her expectantly. She ran her hands over her ponytail, trying to figure out how to start. “Um…so, you know how I’m going to Astra’s house today?” She didn’t wait for an answer, knowing it was a stupid question. “It’s just that…I’m not going there just to hang out.”

Yang raised an eyebrow. “Oh?”

“Yeah, um…” Luna switched from playing with her hair to her fingers. She took another deep breath and decided to stop beating around the bush. “It’s a date. Astra’s my girlfriend. She has been for a few months now.”

Instead of replying immediately, Yang turned to Blake with a grin. Blake sighed, pulling some lien out from her pocket and handing it to a rather smug Yang.

“I told you she’d tell us before the end of the holidays.” Yang boasted.

Blake shook her head affectionately. “Alright, no need to rub it in.”

Luna glanced back and forth between them, piecing things together. “Did you guys…already know?” Alarm shot through her. “Wait, you didn’t read my texts, did you??”

“Of course not,” Blake assured her. “It was obvious from the way you talked about her, not to mention the way you two were acting at Beacon.” She chuckled, “You didn’t hide it very well.”

Luna blushed, feeling stupid. “Oh.”

“Why did you tell us sooner?” Yang asked. “You know we would’ve been fine with it.”

It seemed silly to Luna now that she’d thought otherwise. “It’s just…I know you and her mother never got along very well. I was worried you’d think the same about her.”

Yang got up and went to sit on Luna’s other side so that she could place a hand on her shoulder. “Hey, Neon could be annoying at the best of times, but I don’t have any hard feelings towards her,” She gave Luna a smile. “And even if I did, I’d never let that get in the way of your happiness. Astra’s a lovely girl, and I’m happy for you.”

“We both are,” Blake added, grinning. “Even if you made me lose a bet.”

Luna sighed heavily and sunk into the couch. “Thank goodness.” She’d worried about nothing after all.

“Now, get up,” Yang instructed. “You’ve got a date to get to.”

“And don’t forget that Sun and Neptune are coming over for dinner,” Blake reminded her, “So be back by five. We can work on those upgrades you wanted afterward.”

Luna chuckled, standing up again. “I will.”

As her parents ushered her out the door, with Blake stopping her briefly to smooth out her hair, Luna’s anxiety mostly melted away, now replaced with excitement. Astra hadn’t told her anything about what she had in store for the day, so she had no idea what to expect.

After she’d boarded a transport, she double-checked the address Astra had sent her, praying she hadn’t mistyped it or anything. She couldn’t imagine the horror of knocking on the wrong door. After reading the address several times to make sure she’d gotten it completely right, Luna opened a map on her scroll and set directions as the transport begin to land, not trusting herself to be able to find her way through Vale on her own. Patch was easy; between the different styles of every house and each natural landmark, Luna knew the layout by heart. Vale, on the other hand, was a lot more complicated when most buildings looked the same and she knew of very few recognizable areas outside of those on the main shopping street.

Stepping into the streets, Luna looked up from the map and up at the street signs. Finding the right one, she set off, constantly switching between checking the map and the area around her. After about ten minutes, she found herself at a single-story house, the garden of which was adourned with bright pink and yellow flowers. A welcome sign was hung on the door, featuring a drawing of a cat. This was Astra’s house for sure.

After hesitating slightly, she knocked on the door, before taking a step back and listening as quick footsteps became louder.

The door swung open to reveal a woman who could have only been Neon. People certainly weren’t wrong when they said the two looked alike, with the same red hair, green eyes, and fluffy tail.

“Ahh, Luna!” To Luna’s surprise, Neon pulled her into a warm, tight hug. “I’ve been wanting to meet you for so long.”

Luna didn’t know how to respond.

“Oh!” Neon drew back suddenly, looking apologetic. “Sorry about that. We’re very outwardly affectionate in this family.”

Luna managed an awkward grin. “Yeah, I uh. Noticed.”

Neon chuckled. “Of course, you must get enough of that from Astra.” She took a step back and looked Luna up and down. “Goodness, you do look a lot like your parents.”

Luna tried not to tuck her tail around her legs and make her discomfort clear. “I guess that’s...genetics.”

“Mooooooommmmmm!!”

Luna felt instant relief the moment she heard Astra’s voice and craned her head to see her rushing towards the door.

“Leave her alone, you’re making her uncomfortable!” Astra complained, stopping by the door and glaring at Neon.

As Neon playfully defended herself, Luna could only find herself smiling at Astra. Her hair was pulled into a ponytail like Luna’s and she was wearing a heart-shaped hairpin instead of her usual cat-eared headband. After going a few days without having seen her, it was like experiencing her beauty for the first time all over again.

After bickering with her mother for a moment more, Astra grabbed Luna’s hands and pulled her into the house. “Come on!” She urged, her tone much lighter now. “I want to show you something.”

“Have fun!” Neon called after them.

Astra’s room was exactly how Luna had always pictured it. A window above her bed poured light into the room, sunlight spilling onto pink bedsheets that were covered in cartoon cats, while various posters covered the walls. Most significantly though, all around the room were stuffed animals of every shape and size; some were piled in a corner, others sat on shelves and drawers, and there was an arrangement of them at the foot end of the bed. It was surprisingly clean and tidy, though Luna wouldn’t have been surprised if Astra had cleaned up just for this occasion.

“Sorry about my mom” Astra apologized, shutting the door. “She can be like an excited puppy when she meets new people. It’s kind of ironic.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Luna assured her. “I know she was just being friendly.” She chuckled, “And you weren’t that different when we first met.”

Astra blushed and looked sheepish, “Yeah, I guess so.” She perked up again instantly. “Anyway, take a seat! I’ve been working on something for you.”

Looking around the room and not spotting any chairs, Luna opted to seat herself on Astra’s bed. It was as comfortable as it looked, and she sunk into it contentedly, watching Astra as she darted to a corner of the room and grabbed, to Luna’s surprise, a guitar, one dotted with stickers.

“I didn’t know you played any instruments.” She commented curiously.

Astra pulled herself onto the bed and sat with the guitar in her lap. “It’s been a while,” She replied, “But yeah, I’ve had this for years.” She looked up at Luna with bright eyes. “What about you? Any musical abilities?”

Luna huffed lightly. “No, not really,” She answered honestly, “I prefer listening to music rather than playing it.”

Astra grinned. “Good,” She replied, “Then you’ll probably like this.” As Luna watched, she settled deeper into the bed and began to play a gentle tune that seemed to fill the whole room. A moment later, she started to sing, with a voice softer than Luna would have imagined from her.

“ _Night skies and soft lights,_

_Both of us, together,_

_Knowing, believing,_

_You make my life better…”_

Luna listened in awe, watching Astra as she concentrated on playing, her face soft and peaceful as she sang. It was hard for Luna to breathe in the fear that she’d ruin the harmony of the song, and she felt herself starting to well up as she listened. Astra’s voice was so gentle and sweet, and matched perfectly with the chords of the guitar. And this was all for _her_.

As Astra finished, plucking the last few strings, she looked up at Luna, and the look on her face changed comically as she seemed to notice the tears running down Luna’s face.

“Ah! Are you okay??” She asked, eyes wide with concern.

Luna chuckled, wiping her face with her sleeve. “Of course, that was just…really sweet.” She tried to keep the tears from falling again and she smiled softly at Astra. “Nobody’s ever done anything like that for me.”

“Oh.” Astra blushed. “Well, it wasn’t really that great…”

“Are you kidding?” Luna laughed. “It was amazing!” She launched forward and wrapped Astra in a hug, even though the guitar got in the way. “Thank you.”

Astra was still blushing when Luna released her. “I’m really glad you liked it,” She admitted. “I’ve spent pretty much all of my time working on it since we planned this.”

Luna’s heart warmed. “Well, it paid off,” She assured her. “I loved it.” She lay back on the bed with a thump. “So,” She asked, “What’s on for the rest of the day?”

The rest of the day, as it turned out, was spent being shown just about everything in Astra’s room, playing video games, watching cartoons, and eating whatever snacks they could find in the kitchen. Neon had also gladly jumped at the opportunity to tell Luna as many embarrassing stories about Astra as possible, and Luna appreciated it for making her feel more at ease. In those few hours, Luna felt as if she was learning more about Astra than she had for the entity of the past term, like that she’d had a whole phase as a pre-teen of wearing nothing but dresses despite Atlas’s cold climate, or that she had names for every single one of her stuffed animals. Each new thing Luna learned endeared her to her girlfriend even more, and brought words to her mind that she wasn’t yet ready to say. Hopefully, she could soon.

The time to go came all-too-quickly, and Luna wasn’t even exhausted by the end of it. She was still bursting with energy as Astra walked her back to the transport pickup.

“This was really fun,” She told Astra as they stood together. “Thanks for inviting me.”

Astra grinned. “Hey, thanks for coming!” She replied, “I don’t know how I would’ve entertained myself without seeing you at least once these holidays.”

Distant whirring sounded as the transport came into view and drew closer.

“Aw,” Astra looked up at it. “Looks like it’s time to go.”

Luna squeezed her hand gently as the transport landed and a few people climbed off. “hey, don’t worry,” She assured her. “We’ll see each other again soon.”

Astra smiled. “Right.”

Luna began to draw away to board the transport, before thinking about it, and then darting forward to give Astra a quick kiss on the cheek before her mind could talk her out of it. Then she turned and hurried onto the transport, smiling to herself as she heard Astra’s giddy chuckle behind her.


	47. Team Conference

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luna gathers the team for a discussion of things to come, and things that have passed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this one's mostly a filler chapter because i need a specific pov for the next one, but hopefully you guys enjoy it anyway!

“Now then, I suppose you’re all wondering why I’ve gathered you here today?”

Lily resisted the urge to shake her head in amusement at Luna’s dramatic flair, though a slight smirk did escape her lips. LLAC’s leader had been a tad more confident since dating Astra- or perhaps it was just because she was settling into her role better. Either way, it was nice- and kind of funny- to see.

The day before, Luna had texted the team to meet her during Cobalt’s lunch break at the CFVY Shop, with no explanation as to why. Lily had suspected she had some news to share, or perhaps something up her sleep. Either way, she was curious.

Astra was clinging to Luna’s arm. “I thought we were here to hang out!”

Luna gave her an affectionate smile. “We are,” She assured her, “But I also had another important reason.”

Lily leaned forward, interested. “And what would that be?”

“We’re about to start our third term of the year,” Luna started, “But I think we all have to admit that we’re not making the progress we could be.” From under the table, she pulled out Striking Shadow and slammed it on the table. “That ends today.”

Luna blinked at the spear, underwhelmed. “That’s your weapon.”

“Yes,” Luna replied, “But it’s got some hidden secrets now, courtesy of my mothers. It’ll make things easier for my next topic-” She paused briefly, then grinned, “-Team attacks.”

Astra’s eyes glowed and she let go of Luna’s arms to put her hands to her face. “Really??”

Cobalt tilted his head. “I thought we already had one?”

“ _One_ ,” Luna pointed out. “We’re not going to make it as a team with just _one_ team attack.” She pulled out a purple notebook that had a great number of neon-coloured tabs sticking out of it from various sides. “I was talking to Blaire Arylide last term,” She explained, “And they made me realize that we’re going to fight a lot better together if we actually _fight together_.” She laid out the book on the table. “I haven’t come up with one for every possible pair, but I’ve still managed to come up with a few that should work.”

Astra peered at the pages. “Your handwriting is so neat!” She marveled, “I, uh…can’t read it though.”

Luna chuckled, closing the book again. “Don’t worry about it,” She replied. “I can’t really explain them to you if we’re not actually training.”

Lily smirked teasingly. “So, you brought us out here to tell us about a weapon upgrade and new team moves that you can’t even tell us about that?”

A flustered look crossed Luna’s face. “Well, uh, you know…I just thought it might be good to tell you guys about in advance…”

Ah, there was the Luna Lily knew. She chuckled lightly. “Hey, don’t worry,” She assured her. “I’m just messing around,” For good measure, she added, “And I’m excited to find out what you’ve got planned for us.”

Luna looked relieved. “Right,” She slid the notebook and weapon under the table again. “Well, with that out of the way…how have you guys been?”

Cobalt chuckled. “Our guests have certainly been keeping things interesting.”

Lily glanced at him inquisitively. “Guests?”

“Sun, Neptune, and their kids have moved to Vale,” Luna explained. “They’re staying with Cobalt while they get settled.”

An inevitable gasp came from Astra. “You mean Team SSSNN!?”

“Yeah,” Cobalt grinned, “All five of them are like uncles to me, and Sun’s one to Luna too.”

“He’s good friends with my mom.” Luna added.

Lily wasn’t sure why Astra was surprised. It seemed that both teams RWBY and CFVY had connections all over Remnant due to their role in the war. She could only imagine what it must be like to have a family that big, when it had been just her and Emerald for so long. _Though, there’s Neo…_

Then again, she wasn’t sure she could handle how busy it must be to have so many people around you all the time; she was barely sure how Luna managed it. Lily was quite content with what she had right now. Though, if Neo wanted to join in, she wouldn’t mind at all.

“What about you, Lily?”

Lily jerked out of her thoughts as Cobalt addressed her. “Hm?”

“Anything interesting happen during your holidays so far?”

Lily leaned on the table. “Depends on what you define as ‘interesting’.”

Astra drummed her fingers on the table, green eyes wide and curious. “Come on, tell us what’s going on with Neo and your mom!”

Lily smirked. “You mean their huntsman status or their relationship status?”

Astra grinned widely. “ _Both_.”

Lily leaned back in her chair. “Well, first of all, Neo’s decided she’d like to become a licensed huntress too,” She started. “She and my mother have agreed to be partners.”

It had taken a few days of thinking, but Emerald had finally come around on taking up Neo’s offer, allowing herself to have a partner once again. Lily knew it was supposed to be the other way around, but she felt proud of her mother all the same. After all this time, it was good to see her moving on from her guilt and grief, and she stood firm in the belief that Neo was the best thing that could have happened to her.

Luna tipped her head slightly. “Can Neo do that? Get her license, I mean?”

“The police and government don’t know that she was the Ghost,” Lily reminded her, keeping her voice down. “As far as they’re aware, Neo’s committed even less serious crime than my mother ever did. With RWBY and JNR backing her, it should be simple enough to get her pardoned.”

“Does she have a court date?” Cobalt asked.

Lily nodded. “In a couple of weeks. With any luck, she’ll be free to take the huntsman license text with my mother after that, and everything should be sorted.” _Hopefully._ Part of Lily worried that maybe the bias some people had against her mother would rear its head, and she’d fail the test for whatever convoluted reason. She pushed the thought away.

Luna smiled warmly. “That’s really good to hear,” She said softly. “I’m happy things are looking good.”

Lily returned the smile, feeling her heart warm. “It’s all thanks to you and your family,” She replied sincerely, “We couldn’t have done it without all of you.”

Astra slammed her hands on the table. “Enough about that!” She insisted impatiently. “Give us the relationship status!” She rested her chin on the table and stared up at Lily pleadingly. “I need to know all the details.”

Lily chuckled. “Well, nothing much has changed, really,” She commented. “Mom’s still pining and they’re both still flirting relentlessly.” Not a day had gone by during the holidays where Lily hadn’t seen Neo winking at Emerald, or heard Emerald deliver a cheesy line. It was a strange mix of adorable, annoying, and a little weird.

Astra groaned. “They’re taking so _long_ ,” She complained dramatically. “Surely _one_ of them is going to confess soon?”

“The last person my mother dated was my father,” Lily explained pointedly. “I think it’s going to be a while before she feels comfortable enough to try that again.”

Astra sighed. “Yeah, I guess.”

“Besides,” Lily added with a teasing grin, “Shouldn’t you be focusing on your _own_ relationship, rather than that of two people you’ve never even met?”

Astra sat up, looking jokingly indignant. “Hey, I’ll have you know that Luna and I had a wonderful date just the other day.”

“She wrote and performed a song for me,” Luna sighed dreamily, gazing at Astra with an incredibly sappy look in her lavender eyes, “It was amazing.”

Astra grinned and grabbed Luna’s arm again. “ _You’re_ amazing.”

As the two absorbed themselves in gushing over each other again, Lily exchanged an amused and slightly exasperated look with Cobalt, though she knew he’d be exactly the same once school started up again and he asked Storm out. Before too long, she’d be the only member of the team not dating anyone, when even her mother was close to starting a romance. She had to remind herself that she was okay with that. Dating sounded nice, of course, but she wasn’t going to actively seek it out when she had other things to focus on right now. Maybe in a year or two, when her life was more figured out and stable.

After a few more moments, Cobalt’s break ended and Lily was admittedly a bit relieved to head home and get away from Astra and Luna’s antics, though she knew she’d only be returning to the same thing of a different kind. Neo and her mother, at least, weren’t as sappy about it, though she wondered if that would change once they were actually dating.

Of course, it was up for debate whether Lily would be more embarrassed to be around her mother when she _did_ have a girlfriend, or if it would be a relief for the two women to finally admit their feelings to each other. As much as she’d teased Astra for it, it was admittedly getting slightly frustrating to see her mother pine over someone who definitely liked her back and would absolutely not turn down an invitation to dinner.

Getting home, she opened the door and glanced around. Emerald was reading on the couch, but Neo was nowhere to be seen; probably asleep somewhere, or in the kitchen.

“Welcome back, Emerald greeted her as she walked in. “How was your meeting?”

“It was alright,” Lily replied. “Sounds like we’re in for a busy term though. Luna’s got plans.”

Emerald chuckled. “Well, have fun with that.”

Lily started for her bedroom, looking forward to flopping down on her bed and sleeping for the rest of the afternoon, but as she got to the lounge doorway, she stopped and turned back to her mother.

“Hey, mom?”

“Yeah?”

“Do me a favour and ask Neo out sometime.”

Emerald smiled fondly. “Hey, I’m getting there,” She replied, “Be patient with me. I’ll work up the courage to at some point.”

“Good,” Lily nodded. “I like seeing you so happy all the time.”

Emerald chuckled. “And I like _being_ happy, trust me.”

Satisfied, Lily turned back around and whisked into her room, jumping onto her bed with a sigh. Hopefully soon, everything would be sorted out.


	48. New Start

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cobalt has a question to ask, but not before running into a familiar face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> been a long time coming :)

Cobalt had always figured that the excitement of returning to Beacon after time away would lessen as time went on. Stepping onto the schoolgrounds on the first day of his third term though, his theory was looking to be largely incorrect. It was as exciting as ever. _Especially_ given his plans for the day.

“Wow,” Luna commented as she hurried to catch up to him. “You are _radiating_ enthusiasm,” She nudged him with a smirk. “Something on your mind?”

Cobalt shoved her back. “Hey, focus on your own relationship,” He teased. “I’ve got this handled.”

Luna shrugged good-naturedly. “Alright,” She replied, “Just let me know if you need any help preparing.” She narrowed her eyes playfully. “And don’t think I can’t tell how nervous you are, too.”

Damn. He’d tried so hard to hide that, but there was no getting past Luna’s semblance. “I’ll be fine,” He insisted, “I like him, he likes me; there’s no way it could go wrong.” _Hopefully_.

He scanned the courtyard, hoping to see Storm before assembly started so that he could do this as soon as possible. His heart sunk as he didn’t spot him among the crowd; either he was inside already, or he hadn’t arrived yet.

With his attention elsewhere, he didn’t notice the girl heading towards him until she stumbled into him with a surprised grunt.

“Sorry!” The girl exclaimed, stepping back and brushing herself off, not looking at him. “I was looking at the map and uh…didn’t really see where I was going.”

Cobalt shook his head. “No, it’s fine-” he broke off as he got a closer look at the girl, recognizing her in an instant from their days their parents would meet up and leave them to play together. He’d know those feathers anywhere. “Cherry?”

Cherry finally looked up at him. “Huh?” her eyes widened in recognition. “Oh! Cobalt!”

Lily leaned over to look at the girl. “Cherry Altan? Arslan’s kid?”

Cherry grinned sheepishly. “That’s me.”

Cobalt was confused, trying to add things up in his head. “I thought you didn’t start at an academy for another year? And- wait, what are you doing at _Beacon_?” Arslan Altan sat at the Mistral council and she’d lived there with her daughter for Cherry’s whole life. And, last Cobalt had known, Cherry had been planning to go to Haven; she’d never want to leave her home.

Cherry looked away. “Yeah, I got put ahead a grade. I was attending Haven, but…” She trailed off.

Something clicked in Cobalt’s mind. “Oh!” He realized. “You must be the transfer student. We were told about you when we uh-” He smirked and exchanged a glance with Luna. “-Lost a couple of students.”

A slight grin crossed Cherry’s face. “I heard about that. It’s nice to know that this school will actually take measures against bullying like that,” She sighed. “Unlike some.”

Cobalt suddenly got a pretty good idea of why the younger student was no longer at Haven. He glanced at the fathers growing from her shoulders; not much longer than when he’d last seen her, though they should have been even longer by now. He felt a wave of sympathy for her, but didn’t say anything about it.

After a moment, Cherry glanced at Luna. “So…who’s this?”

Luna jumped slightly. “Oh! I’m Luna.” She stretched out her hand.

Cherry nodded as she shook the other girl’s hand. “Xiao Long, I’m guessing? It’s nice to meet you.”

Cobalt smiled slightly. Four years since he’d seen her last, and Cherry hadn’t changed, still exceedingly polite to new people; a trait she’d inherited from her mother. Whatever she’d endured at Haven, it was good to see that it hadn’t changed her personality.

“Do you want us to take you to the orientation hall?” Luna offered. “Assembly should be starting soon.”

Cherry smiled and put away the scroll she’d been holding. “That would be great, thanks,” She gave a small chuckle. “I honestly had no idea where I was supposed to go.”

“You mother couldn’t walk you in?” Cobalt asked as they began walking.

Cherry shook her head. “She had to go right after dropping me off,” She replied, a note of disappointment in her tone. “Council stuff and all.”

Cobalt felt sorry for her, knowing how it felt to have such a busy parent. Unlike him though, Arslan was all Cherry had; her other parent, who she’d gotten her faunus trait from, had died when she was young. Cherry spent much of her time alone.

Not anymore though, he insisted to himself. If she was going to be Storm and Yarrow’s new teammate, he’d make sure they kept her company, and he’d be there for her himself as well. Once, he’d been as close with her as he was with Luna, until Arslan had gotten busier with her duties and had stopped visiting Vale. Now though, Cobalt would make sure to look after his old friend.

The orientation hall was cool and dark, and crowded with students by the time the three walked in and waited expectantly for Glynda to begin assembly. Cobalt scanned the crowd, and felt a flash of excitement as he finally spotted Storm, standing with Yarrow on the other side of the room.

“Hey!”

Cobalt jumped at Astra’s voice and spun around to face her as she wrapped Luna in a hug, with Lily approaching just behind, giving Cobalt a friendly nod.

Luna chuckled as Astra hung over her shoulders. “Hey, you.”

Cherry peered at the two newcomers with curiosity, and Cobalt realized he should probably introduce them. “Oh, Cherry, this is Astra and Lily, the rest of my team. Astra, Lily, this is my old friend, Cherry. She’s the Haven transfer.”

Lily offered a friendly wave. “It’s good to meet you.” She spoke quietly, as if she wasn’t quite sure how to greet someone for the first time in a friendly way. Considering her start at Beacon, maybe she wasn’t used to it.

Astra’s eyes glowed. “Ooh, a faunus! Thank goodness,” She gazed at Cherry in interest, her tail waving restlessly. “Your feathers are so pretty!”

Cherry looked slightly surprised, as if she wasn’t used to hearing the compliment. Cobalt once again felt sorry for her; Haven _clearly_ hadn’t been good to her. “Oh, thank you!” She replied. “So, you four are a team then?”

Astra nodded enthusiastically. “Yep! Led by this beauty right here.” She wrapped her arm around a deeply-blushing Luna.

Before the conversation could continue, microphone feedback rang out across the room, and Cobalt directed his attention to where Glynda and Coco now stood on the podium.

“Attention, all students,” Glynda began, “Welcome to your third semester at Beacon Academy. Most of you have done well in your studies so far, I hope you will continue to do so throughout this term. As for those of you who haven’t-” her eyes narrowed slightly, “-I hope that this is the semester you begin to pick yourselves up and strive to do better. Last term, two students failed to meet the standards of this school and its rules, and were thusly expelled. From today onward, they will be replaced by Miss Cherry Altan, who has transferred from Haven Academy and will be joining Storm Hunter and Yarrow Cypress as part of the now-renamed team SCY. I hope you all treat her with respect, and help her to fit in here.”

Beside Cobalt, Cherry blushed as claps of welcome arose from the crowd, and he gave her an assuring pat on the shoulder.

“This term, first-year students will be undergoing their second official mission,” Glynda continued. “So make sure you prepare yourselves well, and keep up your training, both within school hours and outside of them.”

Cobalt exchanged a look with Luna, who looked both excited and nervous at the concept of training. She’d still not revealed what plans she had for the team.

After a few more announcements, Glynda finished up, “That should be all for now. Remember, if you have any questions or concerns, don’t hesitate to come to Professor Adel or myself, and we’ll see how we can help. You are dismissed.”

Cobalt turned to Cherry with a grin. “Well, there you have it! You’re now an official student at Beacon Academy.”

Hope and nervousness battled in Cherry’s dark eyes. “I hope my teammates are nice,” She sighed. “The last ones I had…weren’t.” She looked away.

“Hey, don’t worry,” Cobalt assured her. “Storm and Yarrow just so happen to be our friends. They’re human, but they’ve been learning a lot about being respectful.”

“Hmm.” Cherry looked thoughtful.

“I can take you to meet them if you like?” Cobalt offered. It would be the perfect chance to talk to Storm.

Cherry nodded. “I’d appreciate that, thank you.”

Cobalt turned quickly to his team. “Can you guys take me stuff to the dorm?” he asked, “I’ll meet you there later.”

Interested sparked in Astra’s eyes. “Ooh, are you gonna as Storm the Thing?”

Cobalt grinned. “We’ll see.”

As the other three left the room, Cobalt led Cherry through the crowd to where he’d seen Storm and Yarrow. Thankfully, they hadn’t left the room yet; Cobalt figured they’d wanted to wait around for their new teammate.

Storm’s green gaze lit up when he saw Cobalt. “Hey, Cobalt!” Yarrow offered a shy wave, before stopping and staring at Cherry for a moment.

“Hey,” Cobalt greeted cheerfully. “Let me guess, you’re waiting for your new teammate?”

Storm nodded. “We were hoping we could find her around here somewhere,” He replied, before he blushed. “But we don’t really know what we’re looking for.”

Cobalt smirked. “Well, you’re in luck,” He gestured to Cherry. “This is Cherry Altan. She happens to be an old friend of mine.”

Storm smiled. “Oh! Great!” He gave Cherry a friendly look. “I’m Storm Hunter, and this is Yarrow.”

Yarrow’s eyes hadn’t left Cherry for a second. “I like your feathers.” He commented after a moment.

A slight blush crossed Cherry’s face as she glanced at him. “Oh. They’re not _that_ nice.”

Yarrow’s eyes widened. “Are you kidding? They’re beautiful!” he looked more closely at them. “They’re so shiny and smooth, and I love the silver lining they’ve got. It works really well!”

Cobalt blinked in surprise. He didn’t think he’d ever heard so much from Yarrow in one go.

Cherry’s blush deepened. “Oh…thanks.”

“Well Cherry, welcome to the team,” Storm chirped. “Team SCY has a nice ring to it, I think,” He grinned. “It’ll be a pleasure to have you.”

Cherry already seemed far more relaxed than she had been a few moments ago, a smile now on her face. “Thanks,” She replied warmly. She gave a short bow. “I look forward to working with you.”

Sensing that they were about to leave, Cobalt stepped forward and gave Storm a quick tap on the shoulder. “Before you go, could I talk to you for a second?” He began to prepare himself, shoving down his nerves.

Storm glanced at him. “Oh, sure.” He turned to Yarrow. “Could you take Cherry to our dorm and show her around until I get back?”

Yarrow’s eyes lit up. “Of course!” Cobalt had never seen the mild-mannered boy so enthusiastic as he turned to Cherry. “If you would uh- follow me, ma’am?”

Cherry chuckled ever-so-slightly. “Of course.”

Storm watched them walk away and waited until they were out of earshot before he spoke. Not that he wanted to keep it a secret or anything, but he would have preferred to be as alone as possible to ask this.

“So, um…” Cobalt searched for the right words. It felt as awkward as when Storm had first asked him out, but now the pressure was on him. “I was wondering…now that it’s been a while…” he took a deep breath. “Did you want to try dating again? If you’re ready?”

Storm stared at him, a blush crossing his face as he seemed to take in the question. “Really? You’re not just…messing with me?”

Cobalt chuckled at his adorable shyness. “No, of course not. I mean it. It would uh…really mean a lot to me if you said yes.”

Storm blinked. “Oh, um,” he seemed to stumble over himself. “Y-yeah! That would be really nice! I’d uh…” he smiled softly. “I’d like that.”

Relief and warmth pulsed through Cobalt. “That’s great! I guess I’ll…see you around then?”

Storm grinned. “Right.” He turned to leave, before seeming to think for a moment, and then pulling Cobalt into an unexpected hug.

After getting over his initial surprise, Cobalt relaxed and hugged him back, letting himself melt into the warmth. Storm smelled of vanilla and mint, turned out. It suited him.

Pulling away, Storm left his hands on Cobalt’s arms for a moment. “Thank you,” he said softly, “For giving me another chance. I’ll do everything I can to make sure you don’t regret it.”

Cobalt smiled, affection coursing through him. “Of course.”

As Storm turned and began to head to the dorms, Cobalt stood in place for a moment, watching him as he went. This term was certainly starting out well.

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Requiem : A RWBY Fanfiction](https://archiveofourown.org/works/27102127) by [Redbirbykat](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Redbirbykat/pseuds/Redbirbykat)




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